Tough Love
by Bittersweet Treats
Summary: Everyone is born differently. And in this day and age, quirks mean everything. A strong or flashy quirk gets attention. A weak or useless quirk is looked at with distaste. A dark or dangerous quirk is signed off as a villains. No quirk, you shouldn't exist. Society really needs a change in viewpoint.
1. Trigger Warnings

(Full Description)

Life is a strange thing.

Everyone is born differently, with different family history, different skin tones, and different personalities.

Some are born on the good side of life. They have a talent that makes them shine, a family that gives them money whenever they need it, or even willpower that gets them to a place where they can make a name for themselves.

Some people are born on the bad side of life. They live in poverty, with abuse, or a strange birth defect that changed their life.

In the day and age of quirks, a quirk can define who you are. It defines who you will become. If you're born with a flashy, powerful quirk, you get noticed. If you're born with a weak quirk, you'll never amount to anything. A villains quirk leads you a life of being a social outcast. And no quirk? Well, you're lower than low. You shouldn't even exist.

But what if society has it all wrong? What if they judge before a person can show who they are, and they just drive good people to bad things.

XxXxXxXxX

This story may contain triggers for some people. Please read with caution! Below is a list of possible triggers.

~Implied/Referenced Child Abuse

~Child Abuse

~Implied/Referenced Self-Harm

~Suicidal Thoughts

~Suicide Ideation

~Suicide Attempt

~Implied/Referenced Drug Use

~Drug Addiction

~Drug Abuse

~Panic Attacks

~Mental Breakdowns

~Dismemberment

~Blood and Violence

~Implied Sexual Content

More warnings may be added later and will be added upon request.

If any of these bother you, then please read another story. I am not responsible for anything you do. I just write stories online and post them.


	2. Prologue

Izuku stared at the tiled floor as the doctor and Inko talked, and his listless gaze was starting to scare her.

"I really don't understand why your son has not developed a quirk. There is nothing that suggests he doesn't have one." The doctor, a kind and wrinkly old man named Jine Kazuo.

"He doesn't have the extra joint in his toe, the blood tests come back with positive marks in quirk development, and the specified quirk test shows one has already developed. Judging by the results from everything, Izuku-kun should have a quirk."

Inko looked at her son. Worry filled her gaze and one of her hands was raised to her lips in a nervous manner.

"Do you think it will manifest at a later date? I mean, I've heard stories about it, so I assume it can happen. Perhaps he's a late bloomer." She asked, turning her eyes back to the doctor.

The man shook his head, confusion still written across his features, "Perhaps. There could be a chance his quirk is so minuscule, like an immunization to fire or the ability to make small object hover a few inches off the ground that it wouldn't be noticed unless a specific scenario took place. Or it could be a weaker version of you or your husband's quirk, and Izuku-kun just does not have the experience or the know how to activate them yet despite the fact that his quirk has developed.'

The doctor paused, he pushed his glasses further up his nose as he studied the sheet of paper in front of him, "There is a chance, though it is small, that even if all the tests come back with positive remarks that he is quirkless. The toe joint is a way to tell if someone definitely does not have a quirk, but there are a few people out there who are lacking the extra joint who never developed a quirk. Though, we cannot cross out the option that he is merely a late bloomer."

Inko sighed and lowered her hand, nodding softly towards the doctor.

"That's understandable. Thank you for your time Jine-sensei." The Midoriya stood from the stool she had been sitting on and reached out to gently grab Izuku's arm, "Come on Zuku. Why don't we go home and have some ice cream?"

The little boy barely seemed to register her touch. It worried Inko to no end, but after a moment of prodding his shoulder, her son nodded to her.

As they left the doctors office, Izuku looked down at the ground. Inko watched him from the corner of her eye.

"Zuku, are you...ok?"

His mossy green eyes moved up to meet hers, "Yeah Kasan. I'm fine. I'm just, worried, I guess. I was excited to get a quirk and start training to be a hero like All Might! And Tousan was so excited for me to get a quirk so he could start bragging about me."

"Izuku, just because you don't have a quirk now doesn't mean you won't have one in the future. Your just a late bloomer!" Inko tried to explain, knowing that this small half-lie could blow up in her face if he wasn't a late bloomer.

Izuku shook his head, "But everyone else already has a quirk!"

"That doesn't mean that you won't develop one!" She urged her son to understand her point, "The doctor said you could!"

"Kasan!" He whined at her, tears began to fill his eyes, "Jine-sama also said that I might not even have one!"

Inko stopped walking and despite the irritated looks from several passersby, wrapped her son into a tight hug. She could feel tears filling her eyes as well.

The mother and son had always been criers. They cried at the sad commercial on the television, they cried when someone got hurt even if they didn't know them, and they cried when they were particularly stressed.

"Oh, Izuku!" She murmured, burying her face in his hair, "It will be ok! I'm sure you'll get a strong quirk that will help you achieve your dreams."

The two of them continued crying for the moment. But it all ended and they both went to the nearest ice cream parlour to have a snack before heading home.

XxXxXxXxX

When the mother and son returned him, Hisashi was waiting for them. The table was set for dinner that the man himself had cooked.

"Inko! Izuku!" He exclaimed as he raced over and scooped them up into his arms, a wide happy smile on his face.

"Tousan!" Izuku happily replied as he sank into his father's warm grip.

He was set down after a tight hug and his father pulled away, What news do you bring from the doctor?"

Izuku looked over at his mother, not sure how to explain what they had discussed. In all actuality, he had been too spaced out to remember exactly what was said.

His mother straightened up and kissed his father on the cheek, "The doctor said that Izuku might be a late bloomer. Jine-sama also mentioned that Izuku could be quirkless, but he leaned in the direction on delayed activation of his quirk."

"Nah. Zuku just likes to take his time. I'm sure that he will get a quirk soon." Hisashi smiled brightly.

The young boy smiled brightly at his father, it was all teeth and excitement.

Inko smiled softly at both of them and then ushered them further into the house, "Dinner smells wonderful. I would love to eat it while it's still hot!"

Hisashi laughed at that and the family of three gathered around the table. A short thank was said, and they all dug in.

XxXxXxXxX

It had been nearly a month after the doctor visit when the first incident happened.

Inko didn't know where the rage spawned from, or why it was making an appearance now, but it scared her.

Hisashi was usually a gentleman with a bright nature. His smile, which Izuku had inherited, was bright and could make anyone feel better.

So when Hisashi yelled at Izuku for leaving his All Might figurine on the coffee table in the living room, she was surprised.

It wasn't so much the yelling, Hisashi was also a very boisterous man who spoke in a loud booming voice, it was the amount of anger in his voice when he spoke.

Her husband rarely, if ever, showed anger. And he never yelled at Izuku for something as simple as leaving his toys about. It should have been a warning bell. But Inko, being the loving person she was passed it off as a bad day.

Izuku, meanwhile, still showed no sign of developing a quirk. Both Inko and Hisashi had talked in depth about it. Inko had accepted the fact that their son might not have a quirk. Hisashi, on the other hand, hadn't been as accepting.

He worked for a company that analyzed Hero's quirks and wrote in-depth articles about the inner workings of said quirks. He was surrounded every day by people with quirks, studying powerful quirks, hearing others brag about quirks.

It was likely that he wanted to be able to brag to his coworkers about his son's quirk. If Izuku didn't have one...that created a problem.

Inko had thought he would get over it.

He, obviously, had not.

The second incident happened while she was cooking dinner. Hisashi had come home from work about three minutes prior and Izuku had rushed to tell his father about his day. He'd gotten a golden star in class, and he wanted to share it with his father! Business as usual. And as always, Izuku was bright-eyed and smiling.

The man, however, was almost silent. It was a stark contrast to the usual persona of Hisashi.

That should have been the second warning bell.

Inko glanced over and watched lovingly as Izuku prattled on about his friends and teachers of his preschool. She smiled as she went back to the pot of boiling noodles.

It was when her back was turned that it happened so she couldn't have told anyone exactly what Hisashi did. All she knew was there was the sound of skin smacking harshly into skin and Izuku's cry of pain.

Inko spun around wildly, ready to attack whatever had hurt her baby. She abandoned the pot, dropping the ladle onto the kitchen floor to rush to her son's side.

Hisashi's unusually cold voice interrupted her movements, "Do you ever shut up?"

Izuku was sitting on the floor, his eyes glassy with tears and shock. He was holding his right cheek which was turning red under his palm. The fire brother was standing over him, back straight, his icy cold green eyes glaring at the boy like he represented everything the man hated.

"Hisashi!" Inko exclaimed, gripping at her husband's elbow in astonishment, "What are you doing? What do you mean?"

"This little brat couldn't possibly be more annoying. First, he just runs up to talk to me as if I actually care about him. And I'm getting tired of hearing it. And he distracts you from your duties, taking resources that we need selfishly."

"That is our son you are talking about!"

"I never had a son. This little brat showed up one day and stuck around like gum on the bottom of a shoe." The man's voice was flat and dark.

Inko took a step back from her husband and raised a hand to her mouth to stare at him nervously. She had never seen him like this before. It was like Hisashi had found his identical twin and sent him in his stead.

Hisashi turned back to Izuku and snarled, "Go to your room. Don't come out for the rest of the night."

The boy stumbled to his feet, trembling and obviously scared. He managed to make his way out of the living room and up the stairs on his shaking limbs. Inko watched him go, making sure he was in his room before she whirled on her husband.

"I don't know what happened at work today, or what has crawled up your ass lately, but it should not have prompted that reaction out of you. Izuku is your son. Never treat him like that again!" Her voice shook with passion and emotion that bubbled in her chest like water in a boiling pot. Her hands were clenched into fists as they almost always were.

Hisashi looked at her, the fire in his eyes returned with a violent fever, "You cannot tell me what to do! I am the father of this household and you obey what I say! I make the rules, I have the job, I pay the bills, I provide for you and that heathen. I can whatever the hell I want to do!"

Inko took a step back, the bravado of earlier was gone. It was impossible that this man was her husband. He would never raise his voice to her like that.

The mother decided to return to cooking. She could speak to Hisashi about the matter the next day when this event was in the past and he was in a better mood.

But, he wasn't in a better mood the day after that, or even a month after. If anything, his mood became more and more vicious.

The Midoriya household went from a happy smiley family of three to a shadow of its former self. The loud boisterous laughter that usually spilt from the residents disappeared until silence echoed in the halls in a haunting tone. Loud bounding footsteps shifted to a quiet, jumpy patter. It was like the two greenettes of the house were always tiptoeing around a sleeping dragon. Too terrified to slay it and unable to escape it.

Izuku's bright smiles and blazing determination filled eyes turned dull and puppet-like. Inko lost her gentle and mother traits as they gave way to something more nervous. Their smiles were rare, but always genuine.

XxXxXxXxX

Izuku gently folded the blanket he had used and placed it back on the back of the couch where it always sat when it wasn't in use. He was trying to be silent because Hisashi grew angry when he was interrupted by Izuku being loud.

His feet silently padded away from the living room as he walked to his own room.

It was bare. The walls a plain off-white. There were spots where sticky material stuck from the posters that used to coat the walls like wallpaper. Hisashi had thrown a fit one night and torn one off the wall. To protect them, Izuku had rolled them safely into their tubes and stuffed them with his figurines in the closet. Which had mysteriously disappeared one night when he was asleep. His shelves were empty, only holding dust and memories of a time when things were better.

His mattress was bare as well, the sheets ending up in a smouldering lump in a garbage can somewhere.

The bed-frame was old and scratched, something his mother had used when she was a girl. The desk in the corner was given to them from Hisashi's old coworker who had gotten a new one. It was old and stained with marker and paint, but the supplies that burdened it were neatly placed (as few items as it was). The chair that went with the desk was an old dining chair with a missing leg.

It was less a child's room and more a guest room. Un-lived in and lonely.

Izuku sat down on the bed and leaned back to stare at the ceiling. He was six now. If he had a quirk, it would have manifested, so the possibility of him having one was now non-existent. There was a small minuscule chance that certain actions or problems had to be undertaken for his quirk to show. But quirks like that were extremely rare, so he highly doubted it.

Not that it would make that much of a difference.

It had only been a year, but with each passing month, his father's temper had gotten worse and worse. Not towards anyone else, just towards Izuku. And because his mother always stood up to help him, her as well. He acted civil to all other people.

But the two Midoriya's had gotten used to it. It had been a full year and a half of the same sour attitude.

A door slammed downstairs, making the green haired boy jump and sit up. His nerves suddenly on edge. He sat stalk still to listen, hoping against hope that it wasn't what he thought it was.

Footsteps pounded on the stairs, stomping down the hallway and stopped in front of Izuku's door. They brought with them an almost visible wave of rage akin to a great beast that was displeased with something. Izuku's heart stopped beating in his chest.

The door swung open fast, bouncing into the wall and flinging itself back at the person who'd opened it, but the man's form was there to stop it from shutting.

"Why is the living room a mess? I don't care if you have a quirk or not, but you are still expected to do you share of housework around here!"

The man stalked into the room, his eyes burning with hatred directed at the person sitting in front of him. He reached a hand out, making the boy flinch. Izuku cowered from the hand, but his mouth didn't open to answer. There was no point answering. No matter what he said, his father would still punish him.

"Do you think just because you aren't like the rest of the population that you can lounge around and make everyone else do your work for you? Your quirkless, not incompetent. Now, get downstairs and clean up the mess you made."

Izuku scrambled to obey. He stumbled to his feet and raced into the living room, looking for what he had missed when he'd originally cleaned it up. The blanket had slipped from the back of the couch and shifted one of the pillows, knocking both to the floor. The boy hurried to pick it up.

A deep baritone voice from behind him sent shivers up his spine, "No dinner for you tonight. Not until you learn to take care of your own messes."

The young boy nodded. This wasn't the first time this had happened. His mother watched from the kitchen door frame, hands raised to her lips in that nervous manner she had developed. The smell of cooking meat and vegetables wafted from behind her.

She smiled weakly when their eyes met, nodding silently at the question he'd asked.

"Yes, Tousan." He trembled past the old man, the green of his eyes fixed to the floor.

Hisashi merely huffed in annoyance and walked over to the dining table. Izuku scrambled up the stairs, blanket in hand. He didn't want to stay around and suffer more of his father's wrath.

These were the most common times in the house, but also the calmest punishments Hisashi dealt out. These were the times that Izuku felt safe enough to daydream about things going back to normal. When Hisashi was like this, he and his mother could feel a small semblance of happiness.

It was other times, times when Hisashi came home after a hard day at work, or when Izuku got in his way. Times when Hisashi went out with his friends for a drink and came home drunk.

He never drank at home.

But when he did come home drunk or stressed, he would take it out on Izuku. The boy had walked away many nights covered in bruises or cuts. Once, he'd ended up with scrapes and a broken arm when Hisashi pushed him down the stairs. It was never anything too serious.

At least, that's how Izuku saw it. He didn't want it to be any other way, or to see it as a bad thing or he would drive himself insane.

Hisashi only was physical when he was mad about something in particular, but the comments he made about Izuku whenever the boy was in sight were harsh and unforgiving. The six-year-old boy was beginning to believe he really was as worthless as both Kacchan and his father said, even if his mother denied the statements whenever he told her as such.

The boy plopped back on his bed, the blanket in his lap. He felt tears begin to gather in his eyes. He didn't understand why his father hated him so much.

Izuku cried himself to sleep that night.

XxXxXxXxX

Inko noticed how the light, almost non-existent beating turned into full force temper tantrums that happened weekly. Hisashi came home drunk more night than not and started ranting about how useless the boy who lived in his house was the moment he walked in the door. Izuku would be called downstairs and beaten because of it.

Whenever Inko tried to intervene, Hisashi said it was to make Izuku stronger. It wasn't like the boy could depend on a quirk to save him

The mother wasn't sure she could be surprised by the drastic changes anymore.

His only redeeming quality left was soon trampled in the dust when Hisashi brought home a bottle of whisky and chugged the entire thing that night.

The man's mood and personality got so bad that Inko began to sleep in the guest bedroom, no that she'd wanted to sleep in a bed with him since his attitude on their son began to shift.

Inko had spent countless sleepless nights awake thinking about getting out of the house and leaving this stranger that claimed he was her partner; however, whenever she brought it up, he raised a hand.

Hisashi had never once his her, at least never on purpose. He tore her down and tried to get her to see his side of the story. He tried to convince her that Izuku was a monster who needed to be shunned, but she never listened.

The only time he'd ever hit her was when she leapt in the way of his blows to Izuku. But he never hit her.

Inko knew better though. She knew that if she turned to leave she would be beaten just as bad as Izuku, and while she would do anything to stand in and save her baby, she was too terrified of actually doing it.

It was her mother instinct against her human nature. Her human's nature, no matter how much it upset her, was stronger. She valued her life and her son's life above all else. Inko wasn't willing to risk their lives to get away.

It broke her heart every time she had to watch Hisashi beat her child, their child.

Izuku was their child. A son created between the two of them. But no, this man was not the Hisashi she had married. This man was not her husband. He had stopped being her husband a while ago.

The mother, despite everything, was probably most horrified by Izuku's reactions to his father's violence. He would walk away covered in bruises and cuts, but he acted like they were bumps and scrapes. Inko was terrified of this.

He was only six, but he acted like being covered in bruises was normal.

Inko watched from the Kitchen door-frame as Izuku was once again beaten. Hisashi was saying something, but she had blocked his voice out a long time ago not wanting to hear what this man was saying about her child.

Behind her, she knew that there was a pot of noodles that was boiling over and a pan of chicken was burning in the oven. But she refused to go back to cooking until she saw Izuku limp his way upstairs.

Tears blurred her vision as she wished she had the strength to get out of the situation.

XxXxXxXxX

It was a sunny afternoon after school, and Inko had urged Izuku to go and hang out with his friends. So the greenette had gone to the park with Kacchan and a couple of other kids from his primary school.

They had played tag around the grassy field for a while, then played in the sandbox.

Then, Kacchan had suggested they go and play superhero in the forest that lined the park. It was huge and dark, something that Izuku would never have gotten close to if he was alone. The trees towered over the children, thick branches reaching towards the sky in an eternal want of the sun. Leaves of varying greens created a thick canopy over the forest ground.

The group of children walked deep into the woods with Kacchan in the lead. Midoriya was nervous, but he didn't voice his fear to avoid the name calling that would certainly ensue.

Unfortunately, luck was not on his side that day.

Kacchan and the rest of the children began to flit through the large tree trunks, whooping and hollering about heroes and fighting. Izuku tried to keep up, but he was shorter than the rest of the kids, and Hisashi had chased him out of the house without breakfast or lunch that day. He was surviving on the small snack of goldfish his mother had given him when she picked him up.

Eventually, the others faded into the shadows of the trees and the forest fell silent. The sun was beginning to sink in the sky, school ending late in the day and they had been playing for a while.

"Kacchan?" The younger boy called out nervously, looking around with uncertainty. He wasn't sure when he lost the group of kids, but his question was met with a stale silence that never plagued a forest.

His eyes began to cloud with tears. He was alone, so completely alone. His friends abandoned him, his father beat him like he was an animal that had disobeyed its master. And his mother, his sweet loving mother, could do nothing to help him.

The boy collapsed against a tree, quiet sobs shaking his body. He wasn't sure how long he sat there crying, but by the time he looked up, the sun was gone. It left the sky dark and gloomy. This caused the tears to start up again.

Izuku didn't notice the creature until its long rotten fingers caressed his cheek. His eyes shot up to look at what had touched him. The beast was half hidden in the shadows, but he could see it was disgusting.

Long spindly arms reached out from where it hid in the dark. They were tipped in the thin pointy dagger-like nails, and empty white eyes were peering through the dark.

_**'Master Hurt! Master Fear !'** _A thin reedy voice echoed in his head.

"What? What are you?"

_**'Protect Master !'**_

Izuku stared at the thing, but he didn't feel the fear that he felt he should. He knew that this thing could kill him, its claws and empty eyes told him so. As did the fact that it hid so well in the shadows. But he felt no fear.

"What are you?" He asked with a clear voice.

_**'I Master's Quirk.'**_

The boy stared wide-eyed at the creature. His quirk? But he didn't have a quirk. So how could this...thing...be his quirk?

"I don't have a quirk. It's impossible. Don't lie to me."

Its wheezing voice made Izuku flinch as it talked again.

_**'Master Has Quirk. Represent Nightmares Of People Around Master.'**_

Despite its halting speech, Izuku could understand it clearly. It was like he knew what it was going to say before the words could even be spoken. The fact that he could instilled a sense of nervousness in him.

"But, what are you?"

The creature just stared at the boy, retracting its hand when Izuku's tears stopped completely. The glossy sheen of the eyes unnerved the boy.

"Do you have a name?"

Once more, the shaky voice did not fill the air.

"Will you answer me?"

The head mostly hidden in shadows moved, nodding.

Izuku didn't know what to feel or think, so he just stared at it in confusion. His green eyes staring deep into the glassy depths. He felt like he was connecting with the thing more as he looked at it.

A scream broke the intense staring competition he was having with the monster.

It melted quickly into the shadows, a ghostly breath seeping into Izuku's bones.

A woman stared wide-eyed at the boy, her pupils blown wide with fear and she was shaking like a leaf.

"Ma'am? Are you alright?"

No response, and when the seven-year-old tried to approach her, she scrambled back.

"Don't! D-don't touch me!" She gasped, scrambling back in fear.

The young boy stepped back and clutched a hand to his chest, a feeling in his chest constricting. His breath escaped his lungs as if they were being squeezed with a rope that was tied tightly them.

This woman, she was scared of him, of the thing he was standing next to that was obviously connected to him. He didn't want people to be scared of him, he wanted them to look up to him, to look forward to his presence, not run away.

Tears pooled in his eyes stronger than before as his world crumbled around him. They slipped down his cheeks and easily created more tear tracks that joined the others from the tears that had slipped down his face earlier. Izuku retreated from the woman and collapsed back against the tree to sob. His shoulders shook violently as he buried his face in his knees.

Was his existence some joke for some divine being to play around with a laugh at like it was some great comedy act?

The rattling voice of the creature echoed around in his skull.

_**'Master Need Help?'**_

"No!" He whispered brokenly into the forest air, "I won't ever need your help. I won't ever need you, so you can just go back to wherever you came from."

The child's voice had escalated to a shriek at the end. He was once again alone in the dark forest, the woman had run off the moment the child stumbled back. Izuku clutched at his chest when he came to the realization that he could never be a hero, not with this monstrous quirk.

He wanted to deny that that thing could be his quirk. He hadn't even seen what it really looked like, but he knew that if anyone else saw it, they would freak out. The boy turned his face to the sky. It was filled with stars. Silver moonlight cascading down on the horizon.

A hand gently brushed his shoulder and Izuku knocked it away. He knew that it was the creature, and he knew he didn't want its sympathy.

"Get away from me! Stay away from me! I don't need you. I'll never need you."

It recoiled as if it had been struck, which made Izuku flinch as well. Hurt and confusion filled the child's head.

"Go away!" He screamed at it and the thing once again melted into the shadows.

Midoriya cried himself to sleep that night as well. He slept on the hard ground of the forest. When he woke in the morning, Kacchan was shaking him.

The blond looked annoyed, but there was concern flickering in his eyes, "Come on. Your moms freaking out!"

Izuku numbly let the explosive boy drag him from the forest, complaining about how he was a useless deku.

XxXxXxXxX

Izuku, from that moment on, ignored the strange thing every time it tried to manifest around him or communicate with him. He ignored the emotions that bled into his head when he pushed it away. He ignored the way his shadow sometimes writhed with confused anger.

He refused to let his quirk be known to the world. It wasn't something he was proud of, and he would make sure that it could never appear before another soul. He could be a hero, even if it meant he had to deny who he was, what his true power was.

But every time that he was alone and his emotions overwhelmed him, he could feel a tug in his gut and the presence of the thing get stronger.

Every time that he was in danger it tried to get his attention. It wanted to protect Izuku.

The first time that Izuku looked at it and acknowledged its presence since he'd discovered it was two years later. He was now nine years old. He'd had a very bad day.

His shoulders ached with the burns Kacchan had given him. His ribs whined whenever he moved because his father had beaten him. One of the few notebooks he had created had been burned to ash. Tears were already streaming down his face when the rotten hand reached out to touch him hesitantly.

Izuku looked up to see the creature, though it did not surprise him. This time, it wasn't bathed in shadows so he could see it clearly.

Its form was hunched over, two of its eight spindly arms trailing along the ground to support the weight of its torso. The needle-like nails protruded from every single one of the arms. Its neck was long and twisted, topped with a misshaped half-human, half animal skull. The face sat crookedly on the skull. A long snout snapped out, bare-skinned and red. Dagger-like teeth filled its mouth in a way that it could not close its jaw all the way. The eyes were the same glassy white as when he first saw it. Long dog-like ears protruded from the top of the skull, one of which was torn into ribbons. Its spine stuck out uncomfortably, showing that it was an emaciated thing. Two large lumps on its back where the shoulders were strained the papery white and grey skin almost like wings that never actually managed to sprout. The front of its torso shows the skin pulled tight over the bones, the ribs sticking out and carved down to sharp points. The skin had sealed itself over the bones like it was trying to contain them. The legs, unlike the rest of the body, were thick with corded muscle and sturdy as tree trunks.

Izuku had never seen anything more disgusting, but he wasn't scared of it.

_**'Master Hurt. I Help?'**_

It reached a hand out again uncertainly. Izuku didn't know what prompted him to do it, but he stood and collapsed into the creatures form. Maybe he was so touch-starved he would accept comfort from anything.

The boy wrapped his arms around its bony torso in a crushing hug as his quiet tears turned into quiet sobs.

It didn't wait a moment to return the hug by wrapping six of its arms around the boy, cradling the human close to its emaciated form.

The position wasn't entirely comfortable for either, but Izuku didn't care. It didn't matter. Izuku needed to be comforted and this thing was here to do it.

"I'm sorry I've been pushing you away. You just wanted to help." Izuku's voice was weak.

_**'Master Never Meant To Harm. He Forgiven.'**_

This made the tears come faster. The boy and the monster wrapped around each other, a pair that most would be terrified to see and horrified to come across.

It was the first time in weeks that Izuku had felt at peace.

XxXxXxXxX

Bakugou slammed Izuku against the fence, his eyes burning with anger and something Izuku couldn't explain.

This was the second time that day the boys had found themselves in this position, and as always, Bakugou got no response.

It just angered the blond further. They were both in their fourth year of primary school, and both of them hadn't changed much from childhood.

Izuku was the same quiet kid he had become when he turned four, and Bakugou was the same explosive child he had been when he discovered his quirk.

"So why did you talk to her?"

Izuku kept his lips together, refusing to answer the boy.

"Come on Deku! Answer the goddamn question!" Bakugou growled. His palms, which were against Izuku's shoulders, began to heat up at the continued silence. He was angry.

What had happened to the green haired boy. He used to be so chatty. Of course, he hadn't been chatty in years, but the blond missed his friend.

"I know you can hear me. If you don't answer me, I'm going to burn your damn notebook again."

At this, Izuku looked up in alarm. His eyes were already filling with tears as he violently shook his head, "Please don't Kacchan! I just fixed it!"

"Then answer my question! Why did you talk to her? You know that I liked her and you chased her off."

"K-kacchan, we're in fourth grade. I don't think it matters that you like her. She probably doesn't like you back."

The greenette's voice was a quiet stutter and it made Katsuki angrier.

He shoved off of Izuku's shoulders and mini-explosions popped from his palms, "Whatever nerd. You're just a useless deku!"

The blond stormed away.

XxXxXxXxX

The stars in the sky shone brightly as Izuku points them out to Osore.

Osore was the name he had given to his quirk when he grew tired of calling it, and the creature hadn't complained.

Actually, Izuku wasn't sure it would ever complain. It didn't swarm Izuku with warmth and happiness when he named it. In all honesty, Osore probably didn't care.

"And that right there is called the Little Dipper."

_**'Little Dipper'**_ It echoed.

"Hey, Osore?"

It didn't respond, but he knew that it was listening. It was always listening to him.

"Do you ever wonder what it'd be like to wander the stars? To just, live up there as a light a thousand miles away from earth with no problems. Just existing?"

The thing remained silent. It usually never responded to questions unless they were simple. Izuku chalked it up to limited brain capacity. It was only capable of feeling basic feelings as far as he could tell and it could only manage the speech of a three-year-old.

It was more animalistic than human. When it was allowed to form its solid mass, it would sniff as Izuku like it wanted to memorize the scent of its master. When it ran, it was on all of its arms and legs, despite walking in an upright position. Well, kind of.

It used two of its eight spider-like arms as extra legs. Its spine was too weak to actually support the full weight of the torso, is the only thing there to hold it up.

"Osore, can I have a hug?"

The thing scuttled closer to him and brought a couple of its arms around the boy's shoulders. Despite its disgusting look, it didn't smell. That or Izuku couldn't smell it.

"I'm never going to use you in public. You only ever get to come out in times like these to hang out outside of the shadows. You know that, right?"

(BI) 'If Master Is In Danger I Kill.'

The boy sighed but learned further into the creature's hug.

XxXxXxXxX

Midoriya's relationship with Bakugou had gone down the drain a long time ago. The greenette had given up on trying to remain friends with anyone after she discovered his quirk, too terrified that they would accidentally discover it.

That and his father would never allow him to have friends over. It was an unspoken rule. Not that it matters considering that Izuku was alone.

There was also the fact that no one wanted to cross Bakugou. He had somehow ended up as the school alpha. He was the pack leader and Izuku was undoubtedly the lone wolf who was allowed on pack territory only because of the alpha's strange obsession with him.

No one tried to approach him unless they were new. These students didn't understand the school's social ranking, but they were always put in their place.

Today was one of the rare days when a student joined their grade. They just so happened to be the outlier and sit next to Izuku.

Izuku always ate inside the classroom because he wasn't allowed in the cafeteria and the school forbid students from going into the roof.

"Hey! You're Midoriya Izuku, right? My name is Takana Harume. Do you mind if I sit here and eat with you?"

The greenette barely glanced up to nod. He was silently eating his lunch, and most of the time, he never raised his head.

There was a shift in the air of the class as a couple other students that ate in the classroom glanced over with scared expressions.

"You probably shouldn't sit with me. I'll ruin your reputation, and you'll just end up getting hurt." He whispered.

The girl made a face and sat down, "Bullies are just jerks who want to make themselves feel better. It doesn't matter what they think, so I'm going to sit here!"

Izuku glanced at the girl with a soft but flat smile, "Thank you, Takana-san."

He studied her for a moment. Her eyes were narrowed and cat-like, her nose, slightly upturned and freckled. Her hair was long and purple, reaching down to her knees, but it didn't look like hair. Probably a part of her quirk.

Takana stared to chat, and Izuku just sat and listened. He didn't talk to many outside of his mother and Osore these days, so it was nice to hear another voice addressing him. Of course, he knew that it would be taken away the moment Kacchan heard about her actions. The boy savored the moment for that reason.

It only took a moment, but the sliding door of the classroom launched open revealing a livid Katsuki Bakugou. He searched the room, saw the two sitting together and marched over.

"Get up!" Bakugou snarled at the girl, his crimson eyes focused on her.

Takana glared back at him and crossed her arms, "Why should I? I can sit where I want, and I choose to sit here!"

"I'll blow your fucking face off if you don't get out of this room and away from Deku!"

The blonds tone was angry and he gritted his teeth. It wasn't very often that someone challenged his rule. Even the upperclassmen obeyed his rule.

"No! I am my own person. I'm not going to fall into your trap. You're just a big bully!"

Izuku shrunk back from her words, seeing Katsuki twitch slightly. The blond slammed his fists into the desk, smoking craters carving themselves in the wood on the force of his hit.

"Fine!" He shoved the desk back into Izuku with enough force to send the bento box that had been sitting on it over the greenettes head. As it fell, it slammed into Izuku's shins and toes. He raised his arms so they were clear from the destructive path the hunk of metal and wood caused.

Izuku's shadows squirmed, shuddering in anger.

Bakugou snatched the front of Izuku's uniform and kicked the chair out from under his legs. Then he threw the boy towards the blackboard at the front. There were other students from other classes watching the school alpha in action, more gathering at the doors.

"Get out.' He snarled once more to the purple haired girl who was staring at what the blond had done in disgusted shock.

Izuku was used to it at this point. Kacchan had a habit of doing things like this whenever he was mad.

The girl turned her gaze onto the blond, "You're an absolute ass!"

Kacchan bared his teeth to her and she flinched back and stood, "Fine. I'm leaving. But you didn't have to hurt him. I was the one who approached him."

She shoved her way through the crowd that had gathered at the door. She had been put into her place and would likely be staying there to avoid Bakugou's wrath. Izuku knew she would never speak a word to him again.

The two boy's eyes met and the explosive boy snarled once more before he made his way out of the room. Izuku stood up to clean the mess.

XxXxXxXxX

Izuku wrote neatly in the journal on the desk. It was filled with notes and such on heroes he so loved to write about and more were being added while he watched a video on his mother's phone.

It was a short video about the hero Blue Mana and his sidekick Spearmint taking down a villain that was trying to rob a bank. Such a cliche crime.

His father was downstairs in his office likely working on his own projects. Hisashi had started to ignore Izuku about a year ago, which pleased the boy greatly.

Sighing with exhaustion, Izuku set the pencil down when the video ended. The scent of cooking food wafted from downstairs and his stomach rumbled.

A flicker of concern from Osore flitted across the bond they shared. Likely a response from the time he had passed out from hunger when he hadn't eaten for nearly a week thanks to his father. The nurse had lectured him for an hour before he was allowed to go back to class because of it.

"Its fine Osore. I'm going to go and get food right now."

The concern faded and understanding replaced it.

Izuku stood and stretched his arms over his head. Then he padded silently from his room to the kitchen.

His mother greeted him with a soft smile when he slunk into the room. She handed him a plate.

The boy never ate with the family anymore. It was an agreement that they had come to when the mutual understanding that Hisashi hated it.

"Thanks, Kaasan." He murmured to her as he kissed her cheek, turning to walk back upstairs.

That was when everything turned sour.

Hisashi was standing in the doorway, his green eyes narrowed with rage and set on Izuku. His entire form was stiff. Izuku froze when he saw his father standing there.

He felt his stomach drop.

"What is this thing doing here? I thought we'd gotten rid of it." The man snapped to his wife, eyes never leaving the child

Inko took a hesitant step forward, "He's always been here, Dear. You were both always so busy that you missed each other."

It was obvious to both Izuku and his mother than Hisashi was completely sober. He wasn't swaying and there was no stale scent of alcohol in the air. And the beatings that took place when he was sober had more effect on Izuku.

Perhaps it was because when he was drunk, his mind was blurry with the alcohol and he couldn't hit as hard. when he was sober his mind was filled with the clever wit Hisashi was known for.

"It's busy? Busy with what? It doesn't have any companions, and It doesn't have a quirk. It's just a worthless thing. What could it possibly be doing?"

His mother stuttered, "Um, he is studying for school. Izuku has always wanted to be a hero, and good grades are a requirement for any school in that department."

That was the wrong thing to say because it set Hisashi off. His eyes filled with more fire as he marched towards his son.

"What makes It think it can be a hero? It's far too weak for that. It would die completing the registration forms."

Izuku fought the urge to throw up as his stomach churned with instinct. He knew something very bad was going to happen.

Hisashi seized Izuku by the front of the shirt, much like Kacchan did when he was trying to beat him up.

"I think It needs to be reminded of where it stands in society."

Izuku tried to back away, dropping his plate in the process and shattering the china across the floor.

His fear must have bled into the bond with Osore because the creature sent a jolt of protective anger to him.

Hisashi threw Izuku across the kitchen and into the cabinets near the sink, "It doesn't deserve to be a hero because it doesn't have a quirk. If anything, It would be a great punching bag."

Izuku scurried up from the floor. His back and ribs complained where they had slammed into the counter which made it harder to stand.

The man brought a hand up and swung it across Izuku's face. The boy's cheek stung for a moment, but he barely had time to register it when he was shoved to the floor where the shattered plate dug into his skin. a Foot slammed into his stomach. Izuku whimpered when he felt something break.

"Hisashi!" His mother screeched as she collapsed to the floor sobbing, "Stop, please. I'll do anything. You can beat me instead, just please stop hurting him!"

She brought her hands to her chest and clawed at it while she pleaded for the man to stop. Izuku's eyes found her'.

Desperate horror shone brightly in them, and Izuku wanted it to stop. Her skin was pale. Izuku could see that his poor diet had rubbed off on her over the years as the clothes she wore were baggy on her form.

His heart clenched at the sight. Izuku hated when his mother cried, and this was even worse. He never wanted to cause her pain, and that's just what he was doing.

Tears welled in his eyes as well, but his attention was torn from his mother when Hisashi slammed a fist into his face.

Osore snarled savagely in his head. It wanted to attack, to tear and rip and destroy. It wanted to hunt, to catch its prey like it was made to do. But Izuku couldn't let it happen.

He'd promised he would never use the power of the monster.

"Please!" Inko sobbed, turning her face to the floor and scrunching her eyes shut. She was begging his father, but the man refused to listen.

A kick to the side, a hand fisted in his shirt collar and his head meeting the floor when he was slammed against it again. The boy's vision went fuzzy for a moment.

Unbridled rage filled Izuku's body. It wasn't his, but Osore's.

Deciding against better judgment, Izuku opened his lips to speak. A weak "Help..." trailed out.

He wanted his mother to stop crying, to stop feeling scared.

_**'Save Master!'**_

The greenettes shadow quivered, not that either adult noticed. Izuku felt the air of the room drop as the gangly creature melted from the shadows and let out a hollow screech as it crouched down. Osore bared its teeth at the man when Hisashi turned to it.

The man scrambled back, fear blossoming in his eyes as the rage disappeared, "What the hell?

Osore launched itself forward and sank its teeth into Hisashi's shoulder. The man screamed out in pain, his throat beginning to glow as his quirk activated. The beasts talons plunged into the man's stomach with a sick squelch and tore down. Blood poured from the wounds in thick streams, bits of soft pink organs spilling with it. Its mouth was still fastened to his shoulder, and it began to shake its head.

Hisashi's screams were getting louder and more brutal. He pleaded for either of his family to help him in agony, but the two watched on with morbid fascination.

At last, the man went still in Osores mouth. It dropped the corps to the floor with a thud and slight splash. More blood pooled from the wounds, but it was a slow trickle. It leaked over the already stained tiles until there was a dark crimson pool around the body.

Osore back away, licking its chops and claws as a wolf would after a kill while the two remaining Midoriya's processed the situation.

They were free. Hisashi was dead, but they were free.

Izuku stumbled to his feet and over ot his mother. She glanced up at him. Suddenly, the boy was once again sitting, this time in his mother's lap in an iron hug.

That night, at the age of thirteen, Izuku Midoriya committed the crime of murder by quirk. And Inko Midoriya helped her son hide the body.


	3. The Truth Always Hurts

He was awake before the blaring of the alarm clock went off, so it only signalled that it was time to get out of bed.

The sun was warm from where it streamed through the window, even if it was just rising. It was spring, so the weather would undoubtedly be warm that day. He rolled over, clicked the alarm off, and sat up.

Izuku stood up from the bed and stretched. He quickly got ready for school and headed downstairs. His mother was already up, sipping at a cup of coffee as she worked on their breakfast.

It had been nearly five years since the awakening, that's what they decided to call it, and life couldn't have been better in their opinion. When one of Hisashi's co-workers came over to ask why the man had skipped work for almost a week they explained that he moved to America for no apparent reason. They didn't stop him because he seemed so adamant, and haven't heard from him since. In all actuality, they'd dragged his body out of the house and into the woods to let the wild animals dispose of him.

Surprisingly, no one discovered the corps, and no questioned their alibi.

They didn't know why, but his disappearance didn't seem to affect anyone other than them.

"Morning Zuku!" His mother greeted happily, "Are you ready for the day?"

Izuku hummed as he started to set the table.

She smiled warmly at him over her shoulder and set the food on it. They said thanks and quickly dug in.

"I'm going to be at work a little later than normal tonight. I won't be home until seven. Will you be ok?"

The young boy nodded in her direction, "Yeah. And it's not like I'll be alone. I have Osore with me."

Inko nodded and another smile crossed her face at the mention of the creature. It hadn't made that many appearances since the night of Hisashi's death, but Izuku knew that she held a warm place in her heart for the creature. Whenever it played out of the shadows, she would smile at it.

After the meal was finished, Izuku helped his mother clean all the dishes, kissed her cheek, and left the house for school.

As he walked, he finally greeted Osore for the morning.

_'Good Morning Osore!'_

There was no verbal response, but his shadow shuddered and emotion akin to pleasure flitted over his conscious.

The sun blared down from the sky onto him as he walked towards his school. There wasn't a single cloud or a sign of them, which made the world around him seem bright and colourful. Izuku felt that it would be a good day, but he couldn't help but notice the sinking feeling in his gut, much like the feeling that had come over him when Hisashi had attacked him.

As he walked down the road, something in front of him crashed to the ground. Izuku looked up from the sidewalk he had been studying as he walked to see what the crash had originated from.

A villain was standing on the overpass with a panicked look in his small eyes. He was tall and buff, most likely a gigantification quirk or the likes. The boy sighed but quickly took out his Hero Analysis Notebook to copy down the fight.

Two different heroes took the villain down.

Kamui Woods, a man with a wood quirk who had debuted earlier that month, and Mt. Lady, a newly debuting hero. Death Arms and Backdraft had taken care of the civilians, making sure they were safe while those worked on the small-time criminal.

"Gigantification is a great quirk. Of course, the drawbacks are huge, especially if you can't control the size that you morph to. And that outfit is a bit revealing. Playing to the sexually appealing side of things. It might not offer that much protection. Unless of course it's made of materials that can withstand damaging things. And she is also playing the fame of Kamui Woods. He had this handled and she jumped in when she wasn't needed. Kinda conceited of her. Would it not have been better to debut somewhere else? There is also the fact that her quirk would work better in the country where she can use it without being concerned about civilians or other heroes getting under her feet. That is going with the idea that her quirk can only be used at on-"

Izuku was shaken from his muttering and thoughts when Osore growled lowly in the back of his head. He looked up to see a couple of men staring at him. One was an elderly man with a...something that looked like it belonged to a cast iron fence?... on his head and a man in a suit.

The elderly man was dressed in a simple white t-shirt and shorts. His eyes glowed with a kind curiosity that most strangers had when they noticed his mumbling. He gave a smile to Izuku before he spoke, "You wanna be a hero kid?"

The man in the suit did not say a word, but his eyes glowed with something akin to hunger, and not the good kind. They were also a very unsettling gold colour. It felt like he was picking at Izuku's very soul with his eyes, looking for his next target.

"Well, doesn't everyone want to be a hero at some point in their life," Izuku replied cryptically to the old man before quickly walking off. He felt bad for being so brief with the elder, but the other man sent shivers down his spine. That and Osore had been snarling in the back of his head for the entire conversation.

He could feel the suited man's eyes on the back of his head as he power-walked away. After that, he made it to school uninterrupted, surprisingly not late considering he was held back by the attack.

School was business as usual, at least until the last period rolled around.

Their teacher, a tall light brown haired man named Chūgakkō-Sensei, had started off the class by holding up some papers and in a serious voice saying, "We need to talk about the future and what you are all going to do for careers."

Then he threw the papers into the air, scattering them around the room with a nasally laugh, "Who am I kidding. You all want to be heroes. There's no point in talking about it!"

Izuku felt a little frustration at his teacher when he said those words.

_'Just because most of us want to be heroes doesn't mean we shouldn't have this conversation. The likelihood of every single one of us making it as a successful hero is slim to none.'_

A loud confident voice replied to their teacher, "Sensei, don't lump me with the rest of these losers. I'm above all of them, and I'll be the best hero ever. I'll even surpass All-Might!"

Izuku looked up at that, chancing a glance at his former childhood friend. Katsuki Bakugou leaned back in his seat, tipping the chair off of the floor dangerously. None of the teachers ever complained about him doing it, even when they berated the rest of the students for it.

Izuku had a half a thought to comment about the risk Bakugou was taking, but decided he like his life more than he liked being a smartass.

The two of them hadn't really spoken to each other since elementary school other than one-sided insults and meek pleas. Bakugou remained the same child though. Loud, explosive, and self-confident. Izuku marvelled at how static the blond was.

"Ah, Bakugou-Kun, your aiming for U.A. aren't you?" Chūgakkō-Sensei gave a fake smile.

Kacchan smiled haughtily, "And I'll be the only one from this sorry school to get in. So, as I said, don't lump me with these extras."

The class erupted into boos and complaints. The other students whined, saying Bakugou was thinking too highly of himself.

Izuku kept silent, knowing Katsuki's words had a strong base. Everyone here had a menial quirk that would be useless in a dangerous situation, or their quirk worked better in other fields. Bakugou had a strong quirk, if not a bit too destructive. It was ideal for a hero. Flashy, strong, and dependable. The blond boy had great control over it, knew the ins and outs of his quirk.

Kacchan also knew when he needed to back down, even if his pride had to take a blow.

"Oh, Midoriya-Kun. You wanted to go to U.A. as well didn't you." The teacher was less enthusiastic this time, his voice going from bright to bored as if he were talking about the weather.

The entire class whirled around to face the boy, making him shrink in his chair under the pressure from the eyes on him. Laughter bubbled up from all of them.

"Midoriya?"

"Really?"

"But he's quirkless, what could he do?"

Kacchan flew from his seat and slammed his hands onto Izuku's desk making the boy flinch back in slight panic. There were still dents in his desk from the year before, "Do you think you could compete with me!?"

Izuku curled tighter into a ball, wanting to sink into the floor so he didn't have to deal with this situation. As much as he wanted to be a hero, he hated being in the spotlight. It brought situations like this up, which made Osore antsy. When Osore got antsy, Izuku had a harder time controlling his emotions and therefore controlling Osore. They also made him feel like there was an itch under his skin that he couldn't quite scratch. Some urge that was buried so far underneath other things that Izuku didn't know what it was.

"N-no. I know that I can't ever measure up to you, but that doesn't mean that I can't want to be a hero. I know that I will never be as strong as you, but that doesn't mean that I can't try to have strength. I mean, everyone wishes they were a hero at some point in their life." He whispered out meekly, wishing the blond would disappear.

"How many times do you have to be told that you can't be a hero because you're quirkless. You'd just get in everybody's way." The blond snarled at him, explosions lighting off near Izuku's face threateningly.

The comments struck at Izuku's heart, right on point. They mimicked the words his father had told him again and again as he left bruises on the boy's body.

Izuku felt Osore snarl back from his mind, and his shadow wriggled a little. He didn't comment and just bowed his head in shame.

"Alright everyone, get back to your seats. You know it's against the rules to use your quirks in class." The teacher said, waving his hands, but doing nothing to punish Kacchan for the obvious harassment.

Bakugou stiffly backed away, his face still filled with anger. He likely wanted to make sure Izuku remembered his place as the outcast, the weirdo. The rest of the class settled down, turning back to the front so they could take notes. Izuku sighed and curled further into himself. As the teachers started to actually teach the class, he zoned out.

He could feel Osore slip into the blonds shadow, snarling and snapping at his heels. It wanted so badly to rip at the boy's throat and claw at his stomach, but it listened to his orders not to attack unless he was in immediate danger. The rest of the class passed in a grey haze and soon the harsh sound of metal ringing broke him from where his mind had sunk.

Izuku looked up and around the room. Everyone was packing their bags up and going to their after school activities. He started to put his stuff away, but an explosion next to his face stopped him. The notebook that had previously been in his hand on its way into his backpack flew from his grip.

"What's this?" Bakugou snarled, turning the notebook to face him with a look of distaste on his face.

One of his friends looked over his shoulder at him, "Its a Hero Analysis notebook. Number thirteen! Dang Deku, you really don't know when to give up."

The other snorted and tapped Katsuki's arm, "You should blow it up. Maybe then that'll teach him."

Izuku clenched his teeth at the suggestion, but the blond's eyes lit with excitement. He clapped the journal between his palms, mini explosions going off. The notebook quickly caught the brunt of the blast and blackened.

"You need to give up Deku." His bully growled, tossing the precious book over his shoulder with enough strength for it to fly out the window, "You're just a quirkless wannabe. The lowest of the low, you mean nothing in the grand scheme of things."

Then the blond turned on his heel and stomped towards the door. Izuku watched him and the two others go. He turned back to his bag with tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

"Ya know, there is a way to get a quirk. Just take a swan dive off of the roof and beg that you get one in your next one." The snarled words echoed from the door.

This time a few tears slid down his cheeks. He didn't retaliate, knowing that there was nothing he could do to combat Kacchan, much less Kacchan and two others. When the group of three finally left the room and the door slid shut, Osore tugged at the corner of Izuku's thoughts.

**'Master...'**

Izuku nodded and the shadow at his feet melted into a physical form. Long spindly arms gently encased the teen in a less than stellar hug. But it was a familiar hug from something that he loved, so it calmed his raging thoughts and emotions. In fact, as the creature touched him, his emotions faded to the background until they were almost faded.

"Thank you, Osore." He whispered into the creatures grey flesh. It hugged him tighter as if it understood his human emotions.

After Izuku finally got a hold of himself, he willed the demonic creature to melt back into shadows. Then he gathered his stuff up and shuffled to retrieve his notebook from where it had fallen.

"Looks like my dreams have become fish food." He quietly muttered, frowning at the koi pond where his notebook floated. The fish had gathered around it to see what it was and if they could eat it.

"Shoo."

The fish darted off to their hiding places as his shadow cast over their pond. He quickly snatched the waterlogged paper before anything else could happen to it. The soggy pages dripped with water that had a hint of ink to it. When the boy flipped it open, he winced.

Along with the scorched look, the words were runny and blurred. Some could be read, but most were unintelligible scribbles that ran together with other scribbles. The painstakingly drawn pictures had melded into blurry lines and streaky masses. Some, you could tell what they once were while others had become dark blobs on a canvas of white.

More tears welled up in his eyes, returning with a vengeance. Izuku had very little in life that he actually enjoyed, very little he could do with how isolated he was from the rest of society. He didn't have friends, he felt out of place when he was in public places, and the only person who actually gave him the time of day was his mother.

Writing these journals was one of those things that he enjoyed. He put everything he had into them when he wrote them. To see something he had put so much work into ruined like this, it physically hurt.

Piled on top of everything else that had happened that day and the emotions that constantly plagued him, from his depression he was diagnosed with when he was twelve to the anxiety that ran in his mother's side of the family, it pushed him off of the deep end.

Izuku did not have mental breakdowns all that often. Most of the time, he was able to control his emotions and stuff down the ones that would make him choke, but he just couldn't do that right now.

Izuku collapsed to his knees in pain as he let out a sob. The notebook was clutched to his chest despite the fact that it dampened the front of his uniform. Not that it mattered when tears joined the pond water.

His shadow trembled in pain.

A few more guttural sobs left his lips and then those familiar bony arms were once again around him.

Osore manoeuvred him up into its lap and began to rock. It was something the creature had learned from his mother- something it imitated whenever Izuku got upset like this or he had a mental breakdown or panic attack.

The boy buried his face into the monstrous creatures bony chest as he continued to sob. The loud sobbing turning into wailing, and soon, Izuku felt like a toddler crying about breaking a toy.

Emotions seemed to crash down upon him in waves, drowning him before he could comprehend them. So many thoughts were flowing through his head that he doubted he would be able to stand if he had been in the first place. Memories that he had long tried to stuff as far down in his mind as he could bubbled up to the forefront of his mind to remind him of how much a failure he was.

He felt like he was literally choking on the emotions and thoughts as he and the monster continued to rock back and forth.

It took a while before he was able to breathe right again, deep calming breaths as he tried to bring himself back from the edge. The wails turned to sniffles and then finally stopped. Osore was still rocking back and forth mindlessly.

Izuku gently patted the side of Osore's torso and the creature gently stood up and set him down on his feet. It surveyed him for a moment and then faded once again back into his shadow.

The greenette wiped the area around his eyes and sighed, "And I was hoping that this would be a good day. With my luck, I should have known better."

He walked out of the front gates of his school and down the road he used to walk home every night. The sun was still in the sky, signalling that he hadn't spent as much time as he thought he had broken down. It likely had only been a few minutes.

The road he walked down was quiet and deserted as always. It was peaceful, which is exactly what he needed after breaking down. He didn't know if he would be able to take the overwhelming sights and sounds in if he went onto a crowded road.

Just as he was reaching the end of the underpass, the sound of metal against concrete grabbed his attention. He turned around to see what had happened and was met with a gelatinous body rushing at him.

He could barely make out the words, "Great. A medium sized skinsuit is exactly what I need. You're my hero kid!" over the roar of blood in his ears and the overwhelming emotions that swamped him.

And suddenly he was gasping for air only to get liquid.

Izuku knew that tears were once again streaming down his face as he clawed desperately to free himself. In his head, his thoughts were once again raging, though not as bad as they were when he broke down.

He wanted to scream at the universe who obviously just thought his life was just something to joke around with. Why couldn't life be fair?

But that was a silly question for him to ask. The answer was simple. He was Izuku Midoriya. Life was never meant to be fair for him. He was the symbol of everything that could go wrong for a completely normal person. His normal days were bad, and his bad days were worse.

He had just had a horrible day, so of course, the next step would be dying at the hands of a slimy villain. It just added to the list of every-growing reasons why he should not be alive.

After a moment of struggling, Izuku just stopped. He let his hands fall to his sides and his jaw relaxes against the flow of slime slowly entering his system. What was the point of fighting anymore?

Bakugou wanted him dead. His father had wanted him dead before Izuku killed him. His mother was struggling to pay for both of them and everything that they needed, spending so many hours overtime at her work that she was barely home anymore. He had no friends to miss him, no relatives other than his mother to grieve his death.

And it was obvious that the world was just screaming in his face that he should give up. It wouldn't have been the first time he's contemplated letting death take him.

Before, he just hadn't had the strength to go through with it. Now the universe was helping him achieve what he wanted in the first place.

His lungs burned with the lack of oxygen, and his jaw ached from being forced open wider than it usually let itself.

"Wow, kid. You aren't really putting up a fight are ya. Well, I guess that means that you know you can't win. You are seriously my hero!" The villain's voice was gritty like the man smoked cigarettes.

Izuku felt the warm tears trail down his face slower than before. They were warmer as well, which was strange as the temperature shouldn't have changed.

The whole shadow of the underpass quivered and suddenly, Osore melted from the centre of it.

It let out an unholy screech, reaching out to touch Izuku. It wanted to kill the slimy humanoid thing that was slowly and painfully overtaking it's master's body, but it couldn't do that without hurting Izuku. Osore could not physically hurt Izuku. It could not move its body in a way that would harm the boy. A drawback from his quirk.

This was the worst possible situation that Izuku could find himself in. But, he just couldn't find it in himself to care. He was going to die, big deal. Wasn't that life?

A slow moving, excruciating death. The moment you were born, you started dying. Some managed to spend their days as they slowly died happily. Others suffered at the hands of demons that haunted the shadows around them.

Before anything else could happen, the manhole cover that had magically found its way back onto the manhole flew into the air. Just as Izuku's vision went dark, he caught sight of blond hair and a deep muffled voice reverberated in his ears.

XxXxXxXxX

When the greenette regained consciousness, it was the constant pull in his skull that usually dealt with Osore wanting something.

His bright green eyes fluttered open to the bright sun and tapping on his cheek. The tapping stopped and a deep rumbling voice caught his attention next. His brain was still foggy, and his hearing made it sound like everything was underwater.

"Ah, good. I'm glad that you are okay young man! I was worried that I had been too late!."

He sat up quickly to the sight of All-Might, his favourite hero, standing in front of him. The bright toothy smile on his face made Izuku's heart stutter.

All-Might was everything that Izuku imagined he would be. Tall, buff looking. There was concern in his eyes, but pride to his posture that made Izuku feel safe.

"You are alright, correct?" All Might asked in concern when Izuku just proceeded to stare at him.

That kick-started the greenets brain. He quickly floundered to his feet, indiscernible words flying past his lips without permission. He reached for his bag, which had fallen or was placed a few feet from him. The boy dug through it, looking for something All-Might could sign as more undercernable words flew out of his mouth.

"Whoa, young man! Take a deep breath. You're talking a mile a minute and I can't understand you. You sound like a chattering bird." The deep voice commented.

Izuku felt shame and embarrassment fill him. He took a few deep breaths to calm his fraying nerves and scattered thoughts. After a moment, he removed his hands from the backpack and placed them in his lap as he was now on his knees.

"Thank you for saving me, All-Might." He quietly muttered, not trusting his voice to be any louder without stuttering, "I'm sorry if I worried you. I think that I'm ok, just flustered. I was looking for something for you to sign. I look up to you, and it would really mean a lot to me if you would grant me this small favour."

The man blinked at him. Silence permeated in the air for a few seconds before the boisterous and iconic laugh broke the tenseness. All-Might threw his head back to laugh earnestly at Izuku which made the young boy flinch back.

He stopped laughing and cleared his throat, but the amusement was still clearly on his face, "It's quite alright m'boy. I would gladly give you an autograph. Just hand over a paper and a marker!"

Izuku reached back into his bag and looked to see if there was a paper that he could give to the man. Along with a binder that had his school work, there was the burnt notebook and a few folders. He grabbed one of the folders and brought it out, then grabbed a pen from his supply bag.

All-Might quickly signed the folder and handed it back to the boy. Then he raised a bottle filled with the slime villain, "Well. It is about high time that I take this villain in for justice."

Izuku wilted back from the hero. Then gathered what courage he had and raised a hand to stop the hero from flying away.

"I have a very important question that I want to ask before you go. And then I promise not to hinder you anymore."

All Might hesitated. He glanced back at the greenette before turning to view him fully.

He didn't say anything and Izuku took this as permission to continue.

"I…I don't have a quirk. I've been registered as quirkless and even though the tests say I have one it's never surfaced. Is there a chance I could be a hero without one? Is there a chance I could still save people without a quirk?"

His heart pounded in his chest like a rabbit fleeing a wolf. The anxiety that sat in his lungs just seemed to grow until it was almost suffocating. He was surprised by how long he had lasted. Usually, he would have fled in the prescience of someone so strong and fanboyed over it when he was alone.

And there was also the fact that he was lying. No matter how many times Izuku told the lie to someone, it still stung him. But no one could ever know what his quirk was.

The blond hero tilted his head, his eyes fixing on Izuku, "Could someone without a quirk become a hero? I should think not. Villains are too dangerous and they have quirks a normal person could never hope to beat. Your dreams are big, but they are unrealistic. You are a strong boy. And intelligent. I'm sure you could get a better job, something safer. Police work is just as admirable. Psychologists are smart and they save people who have been in dangerous situations or home lives. Their field of work is perhaps above that of a hero."

All-Might placed a large gentle hand in Izuku's shoulder, "I admire your aspirations. But you should choose a more plausible future."

Then the hero walked a safe distance away and crouched. A sweep of wind and pressure and he was gone. Izuku was left staring hopelessly at the underpass with a heavy heart.

He had always known, always had an idea. His quirk was too dangerous to do hero work. It's why he suffered the bullying for having no quirk. But being quirkless was just as miserable.

Being a hero was just impossible for a person like him.

It took everything in Izuku to hold a scream of pure loss in. There was a lump in his throat that made it impossible to swallow. He grabbed his backpack, placed the folder and pen back into it. Then he whirled around and raced home as fast as he could.

XxXxXxXxX

The moon cast shadows around his room that danced along his walls and told the stories of the sky.

Izuku was sitting up and staring blankly at his bedsheets. He was in pyjamas, comfortably leaning against the headboard.

His mother wasn't home yet. And when she got there, he was supposed to be asleep.

But, Midoriya had always had trouble sleeping. When his father was alive, he was too scared and sometimes too cold. After his father died, it'd been the nightmares and other emotional problems.

At most, he got a few hours of sleep. It was honestly a miracle he could even function on a day to day basis.

The pull at the back of his skull brought him from his thoughts and he looked up to see Osore looming over him. Its white eyes were fixed in his general direction. And it's head was tilted as if in question.

"Do you want something."

It shook its head and looked at Izuku again.

The boy pursed his lips and rolled his eyes, "If you don't want anything, you can go away."

The creature stayed where it was but it looked over at the window instead of Izuku.

"Do you want to stargaze again?" He asked with raised eyebrows. The creature had never shown a need for anything and showed no emotional connection to anything other than Izuku.

_**"Stars Make Master Happy. Want Master Feel Better****.****"**_

Izuku smiled at his friend, but the smile didn't spread to his eyes, "It's ok. I don't need the stars to make me happy."

The creature nodded as if it understood, which Izuku highly doubted. Then it returned to the shadows of the room.

Sounds came from the front door of the house and Izuku perked up. It was his mother coming home from work.

He listened to her shuffle around the house and waited until the soft click of her bedroom door closing to move. He shifted from his bed and swung his legs over.

This was a regular routine at this point. When Izuku had a particularly hard day, he would wait for his mother to come home to do anything. As soon as her door clicked shut he would head to the bathroom.

Cutting was an unhealthy addiction he had picked up over the years. Something that had started when he was thirteen shortly after the death of his father. It was something that actually made him feel, something that he could sink into. It helped with the emotions that ran rampant, the guilt at killing someone, the anger that he couldn't have stopped it, and the satisfaction that he had succeeded.

He never did it unless is mother was home, too scared that he would cut too deep and bleed out before he could get help because she was gone. Even if he wanted to feel deaths embrace, he feared the idea of leaving his mother alone with her ghosts. And he feared the unknown of the afterlife.

Izuku kept the light off, letting the moon guide him around the room. It was darker than his room, but he attributed that to road light just outside his bedroom window. The lack of light gave the boy comfort though.

He closed and locked the door. Slipping his shirt over head and flinging it towards the bathtub, Izuku padded over to the sink and opened one of the three drawers. It had a hairbrush, a tube of toothpaste, and a small box that was supposed to be filled with insomnia pills.

Instead, it was filled with razor blades he had shoplifted.

He grabbed one with his thumb and forefinger and brought it out to gleam in the pale light of the moon.

Osore's concern pulled at the back of Izuku's conscious and he shrugged it off.

"It's fine. I'll be ok." He murmured to the creature, "I won't hurt myself too bad."

At that, he raises the blade to his left shoulder and dragged it across.

He never cut his wrists. It was too obvious and noticeable. The sleeves to the school uniform were tailored so that most of the wrist and a little of the forearm would show. He could never get away with it. So instead he cut at his shoulders. Sometimes, he cut around his waist, and rarely at his thighs. Never deep, as they were more likely to open by being jostled everyday activities.

The blade dug into the flesh and tore at it. Small beads of blood rose to the top of the line quickly smeared by his hand.

Izuku sighed at the feeling of release. He continued to drag the blade across his skin, counting which each one meant.

One for bothering All-Might.

Another for annoying Kacchan.

A few more for burdening his mother.

And as the moon continued to glow in the sky, he let small lines and beads of blood join him.

XxXxXxXxX

Izuku was once again in his room, staring blankly at his walls. He was lost in thought, going over what had happened that day and where he could go from here.

His shoulders ached, but it was nothing compared to the lost feeling in his chest where his heart was. He felt empty, like a broken shell on a beach. Once housing a small sea creature that had long died, but not beautiful enough to for anyone but a blind person to touch him and undesirable enough to be left in the sand. The only dream he'd ever allowed himself to have was now gone.

All-Mights words echoed in his head. They brought tears to his eyes for the fifth time that day alone.

Though it was past midnight, so it really wasn't the same day.

His dream was crushed. There was nothing left. He has nothing to work forward to, nothing to fight for, no reason to tether himself to this world other than his mother and the fear of death every living thing had.

He couldn't be a hero. He wasn't welcome in society. He had no friends.

Perhaps he should take Kacchan's advice and kill himself. The world would be better off.

But something in him scoffed at the idea. Some part of him that wanted to prove to Kacchan that he meant something. To overcome his father's shadow, and mean something to the world. To show society that it had been wrong about him.

Izuku groaned and he leaned back and covered his eyes. They were beginning to burn from being open for so long. But the burn just accompanied the ache of his head and the sting on his shoulders as well as the pinching in his stomach that whined for the dinner he hadn't eaten.

He decided to distract himself by watching HeroTube videoes. Not only could he stop thinking, but it would pass the sleepless hours.

It was while he was watching a hero named Manta take down a group of small-time villains that an idea struck him.

His quirk was that of a villain. Izuku knew this from the moment it manifested in front of him and scared the stranger that had stumbled upon him. Society already didn't like him. He had 'no' quirk, so he was useless in their eyes. If he couldn't be a hero, why try. Why not just take society down and reshape its views so others like him didn't have to suffer.

Surely Osore would love to see the light of day more. Or rather, the world from a different view than Izuku's shadow.

If he couldn't be a hero, and he had the quirk a villain would thrive from, why not just jump to the bad side? Why not take action and reshape society himself. Violence always did breed a stronger response than passive pleading.

Izuku looked out the window and into the night.

He was going to tear down society and put it back together in his own views. He would change it, even if he had to die doing it.


	4. Introductions

**Im quite sorry for whatever happened to this chapter when I first posted it. And thank you to the guest who pointed it out. I probably would have left it like that until I went to post the next chapter. Sorry, I have no clue how that happened. My fault entirely though.**

* * *

Inko had always regretted having a job.

It wasn't because she hated the job. Not at all. In fact, it was quite pleasant. It wasn't because she didn't get along with her co workers. They were all very kind people who understood that she had other responsibilities to take care of.

It wasn't because she had to provide for herself and Izuku. It actually made her quite proud that she, as a single mom, could afford the small house they lived in and the groceries from the market every week. She always smiled as she paid bills because it was her work that gave her the money. This job gave her a sense of accomplishment and a sense of peace from Hisashi.

The reason she regretted it was because she was never home to take care of her son. To afford everything they wanted to use, she had to work longer shift and stay away from her son for longer periods of time. That meant Izuku was left home alone to fend for himself.

And she had noticed, as they years went on, how fragile her son looked. He had never looked particularly all there. Hisashi often times took away from the boy, leaving behind a shell or something close to that.

After the cruel man had died, she thought it was going to get better. In a way, it did.

Izuku spent more time in the living room and kitchen when she was home! He was more open about using his quirk around her. And his grades stayed steady.

In some ways, it got worse.

Izuku had always been thin. That was a fact of his childhood. Weather it was from Hisashi neglecting to feed the child or his general fear of leaving his room, he hadn't eaten much. Now, it seemed like he was eating less.

She never saw dirty dishes in the sink when she came home from work. Not once. It could have been Izuku or even Osore( though it was very unlikely) that had cleaned the dishes after he ate. But there was bound to be a time where he forgot one dish, or neglected to do dishes. But no, never once.

Izuku also had poor sleeping habits. It was another fact of his childhood. She had also found it hard to sleep when there was a violent man only three rooms over. And she hadn't even been his main target! But the sleep never got better when the man died. The bags under Izuku's eyes contested to that fact.

What worried Inko the most, though, were the scars.

She had seen scars on his shoulders when she accidentally walked in while he was getting dressed. Or when he walked from his room to the bathroom in the morning to take a shower. Or even in the rare occasion where he was asleep and she caught him in the act.

There were thin, silvery scars on his shoulders! Signs of her son's pain that she couldn't do anything about. She was scared that she would lose her son, but was worried that bringing it up would make it worse. She had taken him to doctors, gotten him medicine, everything she possibly could have done without bringing it up to Izuku directly.

Yet it never seemed to work. It never got worse, but it never got better.

Inko wanted to scream and cry. Hisashi was bad enough, why was his influence still plaguing their life!

She unlocked the door as softly as she could, tiptoeing into the house. If Izuku was asleep, she didn't want to wake him.

The house was deftly still. Everything was in place, no lights were on. She toed off her shoes, setting them next to the door and slipping on slippers.

Inko wandered through the house softly, wondering if she should check on Izuku to see if he was actually asleep. Deciding on no, she continued to her room.

It only took a few moments after she settled into her bed that she heard her son's door open softly and the bathroom door swing shut.

Sighing, the woman buried her face into one of her pillows and sobbed.

XxXxXxXxX

The sun shone through the windows brightly the next morning, and roused Inko from her slumber. She rolled over and flopped onto her back to stare at the ceiling for a moment.

Neither Inko or Izuku were really morning people, but Izuku had become more so when the insomnia started. Inko was slow to wake, but quick to cheer up and become the doting mother she was praised for being.

After she deemed herself awake enough not to burn any food if she started cooking, Inko crawled from the comfort of her bed and into the slippers that sat just below it. She stretched, slipped her robe over her nightgown and made her way to the kitchen.

The house was still silent, but it felt more alive than it had the night before when she'd come home. The birds chirped cheerfully just outside the windows in the trees. Sunlight played through the glass panes onto the carpeted floors. Though, overlaying it all, as it always seemed to do, was a dark thing. A dead thing that took all that happiness and made it sterile. It turned the colorful scene into a black and white stock image of something that was old and forgotten.

She ignored the feeling as she always did. Looking in the fridge, she decided on cooking eggs that morning. They were out of bacon, so scrambled cheesy eggs with a little bit of fried lunch meat ham would have to do. She needed to go shopping.

As she worked, the sound of Izuku's alarm going off prompted her to grab the plates from the cabinet and leave them on the counter so Izuku could set the table when he got out of his room.

It didn't take long for the green haired boy to stumble into the kitchen. He set the table and filled two glasses with water should they run out of their choice beverage of coffee and orange juice.

Once the meal was prepared and they sat down to enjoy it, Inko raised a hand to her mouth a she chewed, wanting to say something but not wanting to be rude.

"You should let Osore out so It can sit with us. I know It can't eat or drink, but I still think It deserves to sit with the family during meals. It is a family member."

Her son blinked at her in confused for a second her request registered in his head. He shrugged and the shadow on the floor bubbled to announce the arrival of the monster.

"Good morning Osore!" Inko greeted civilly.

It wheezed a sickly sound, but Inko couldn't understand if it said anything and Izuku offered no translation.

Izuku tapped his fork against the table and tilted his head, "Kaasan, I have a question!"

"Ask away dear."

"Do you think it'd be possible to take a self-care day today. I'm not feeling that well and I just wanna stay home for a while."

Inko gave a sunny smile to her son, "I'm sure it would be fine. I'll call the school as soon as we're done here before I head to work."

"Thank you Kaasan." Izuku gave a weak smile in her direction.

The two Midoriya's finished their meal, Inko gently patting the monstrosity that was her sons quirk on the head with the quiet words of 'take care of him for me.' They finished their dishes, Inko called the school to let them know Izuku would not be attending that day. Inko readied herself for work. She kissed her son on the head and left.

All she could hope was that Izuku would use this day to better his mental health. She didn't know how to help him if he couldn't fix himself.

XxXxXxXxX

Izuku waited for a while after his mother left to do the same. Osore has long melted into his shadow by that time and he brought a surgical mask, so anyone who approached him would think he was sick and confirm his alabi of skipping school, and his backpack with him on his walk.

As he walked, he contemplated things.

Why his mother was so nice to him. Why she did not fear Osore like anyone else who'd ever seen it had. Why his arms lacked the regular burn of fresh cuts like they normally did when he'd cut the night before.

It didn't take long to reach where he was heading, but still he contemplated. When he stopped before his destination, he smiled.

The library.

The library was a tall stately building that sat in a very busy part of town. There were people swarming in and out of it, most likely college students that were studying for tests or classes or adults looking for their next read. Or even a few workers who did not own a computer in their house, but refused to go to an Internet Cafe.

Izuku walked into the library and was confronted immediately by the librarian that manned the checkout desk.

She had long auburn hair that reached her shoulders and flat lips forcing her face into a perpetual scowl. Freckles splayed out across her nose and cheeks like someone had splashed hot chocolate all over her face. Her dark mocha eyes met his and she pursed her lips.

"Should a young boy like you not be in school around this time?" She asked with a high pitched drone.

Izuku shook his head, "I have to day off because I'm feeling sick. But I don't want to fall behind in my studies, so I came here to use your computers and some of your books."

The librarian studied him for another moment, taking in the surgical mask he wore and the backpack on his back. She nodded once and told him to pass.

The teen hurried into the busy building, plopped down at a free computer and booting it up. As Izuku was waiting, he pulled out his phone to check the time. It was 11:56, his mother would be at work until nine, and it took an hour to drive home from her workplace. He had the entire day, and most of the night to do as he pleased. And with Katsuki at school with the rest of the bullies, no one to interrupt his work.

He very well could have stayed home and used the computer there. But if his mother checked the search history, she would become curious and worried as she tended to do. That, and if the government or someone were to track his search history to his house, he would have to explain why he was looking up these things. This was not something he wanted to explain.

As he sat down, Izuku pulled open his backpack and pulled out a notebook. It was a new one, one of the few that had not been touch and remained sitting on his desk for work. The cover was a completely black with the same white cloud to write the owners name and the subject that this notebook would be used for. Both remained blank in the case that he lost it. He wouldn't want what was written in it to be traced back to him.

He set to work researching. It was almost dark when he was satisfied with his work. The library would be open for a few more hours, but the teen boy was done, so he packed up and waved goodbye to the librarian that had greeted him. She nodded to him and went back to her computer where she likely was playing solitaire or something.

When he walked outside of the building, the fresh air of the city met him. He sighed as he watched a few people walk down the sidewalk, minding their own business. There were a few stopped on the side, talking into their phones or watching the road as if waiting for somebody.

Izuku started down the steps when a muffled yelp caught his attention. It had come from the shadows in the side of the library where you couldn't see anything unless you were within the shadows or had a quirk that allowed you to see in the night.

The boy studied the shadows for a moment, but there was no movement to indicate there was someone there. Suspicion filled him as he took a few more steps towards the shadows.

That's when he saw it.

A young girl with long dark brown hair and wide fear filled violet eyes being shoved up against the wall of the alley by another girl her age with short dark hair. Her back was turned to him, so he couldn't see much else. The two of them shared the same uniform so it was likely that they were from the same school, though why there were still out when school had ended hours ago was a question Izuku tucked away. They both looked a year or two younger than Izuku, but he wasn't going to say that they were. He shimmied closer to the girls quietly observing the situation.

"Just because you can take over people doesn't mean that you should be going around and use it. I bet you cheated on that test in class today. Otherwise you wouldn't have gotten such a perfect score!" The dark haired girl growled, stomping on the others toes as anger painted her face into a scornful mask.

Izuku felt his stomach shift with anger as he watched the situation. He knew it all to well.

This was a bully asserting their dominance over their target. A bully tearing down their targets walls so that they could dig deep wounds under the skin of the person they scorned so they could make themselves feel stronger. Izuku had know for a long time that words scared deeper than blades. But words paired with blades dug crevices across the body and mind in a way that made the target feel small and helpless, so they could never escape the clutches of their evil overlord who gave a cruel smile during the day and tore open their hearts at night to fill it with resentment, and pain, and longing, and absolute hurt.

He had lived for years with the torment of another over him. He still did.

Anger boiled in the pit of his stomach and rose up to a crescendo, making him want to keel over and vomit the emotions out onto the concrete sidewalk so the feeling would go away and he could return to his happy numbness. But the anger did not leave his body that way. Instead, it pushed fire into his veins so his fingers curled into fists. Leaving his rational thoughts in the back of his mind, Izuku fell into the hatred filled anger.

He stomped forwards and tore the dark haired girl from the other. He shoved her into the opposite wall of the alleyway and made fists in her uniform. Words snarled their way from the depths of his soul as he spat them at the girl.

"What the fuck is your problem?"

The girl stared at him with navy blue and green eyes. They were uncertain and confused, but soon, they were once again filled with anger and resentment. The same thing Izuku saw in Bakugou's eyes whenever the boy brought his crackling fire filled palms down on Izuku or spat the harmful words in his face. Words that stung Izuku's heart every time they filled the air.

"What does it matter to you? Last I checked, you had nothing to do with this situation." She snarled back just as vehemently.

Izuku could feel the anger beginning to ebb as his rational mind fought for control. The anxiety that plagued him whenever he confronted someone began to chase at the anger so it no longer fueled his words and his actions.

Instead, the boy released the girl and gathered up what was left of his momentary confidence, hoping that what he had just done didn't come back to bite him in the ass later.

"It doesn't matter if I have anything to do with the situation. I saw someone being bullied and I had to step in. So why don't you fuck off and leave her alone. I don't think she's ever done anything to you." He said back, but the fire to his voice was gone.

The dark haired girl smiled in triumph as he back down from her when she pushed on his shoulder, 'Well, I don't know where your fire came from, but it obviously wasn't very strong. I think you realized that you have nothing for this situation."

Izuku tried to stand tall and strong, but he was failing. It had been years since he had stood up to someone like this, years since he had actually cared enough to stand up for someone else when no one else stood up for him. He was so severely out of practice.

His rational mind started to give him questions on what he thought he was doing. He knew nothing about these girls. He knew nothing about the situation. And the girl he was trying to defend wouldn't care in the long run. She might say a thanks and then run off to never think of him again.

Osore snarled in the back of his head, obviously still fueled by the anger its master had felt moments ago. It tugged at Izuku's foot with its shadowy form and asked if it could come out and play. It wanted to defend its master like it hadn't been able to the day before. It had felt his anger at the sight and wanted to destroy the thing that caused its master pain.

An image of Katsuki standing over him flashed in his mind, and that was when Izuku knew that he'd stepped in because he was reminded of Katsuki. He wanted to save this girl from a fate he was living. He wanted to make sure she could live with her dreams and didn't have them torn away from her by some asshat who thought they were stronger.

But why should he care?

Izuku gritted his teeth as confusing emotions filled his body, sending conflicting messages to every single part of him. He wanted to run, he wanted to fight, he wanted to collapse to his knees and sob, he wanted to scream.

A wave of numbness rolled through him as Osore pushed its conscience over Izuku's. The roiling emotions faded to an afterthought and Izuku opened his eyes to glare at the girl. He didn't say anything other than flick his eyes to the shadows just behind her shoulder where he knew Osore was standing. It was ready to attack, ready to tear and rip. He could see its white sightless eyes boring into his own, but he held back. His eyes returned to the girls who's smirk faded into a frightened frown. Her navy blue green eyes flickered with fear and she took a small step back.

Izuku wasn't exactly sure what he looked like, but he guess it wasn't exactly pleasant. He could feel something different about him because the air seemed to shift. The shadows seemed to grow colder.

"Why don't you get out of here before something bad happens?" He suggested with a calm, emotionless voice.

The girl nodded and with hurried footsteps, disappeared into the streets.

Izuku took a deep, calming breath as he turned to the other girl. She was staring at him with widened eyes, her hands clenched to her chest in shock and her mouth slightly parted. Now that he was alone with her, he studied her completely. Her dark brown hair reached her waist. Her eyes were not actually the violet color he thought they were when he first saw her, but a pale gray that almost bled into a violet color when seen form a different angle. A splash of freckles swept across her nose and cheeks. The uniform she wore was slightly scuffed, as if it saw the atrocity of alley walls and concrete sidewalks daily which Izuku would not doubt. The girl was a couple of inches shorter than he was.

"I'm sorry if I scared you or jumped in when you didn't want help. I...I didn't actually mean to jump in like this but my emotions got the better of me." When the girl failed to respond Izuku pursed his lips and turned his eyes down to the concrete as his emotions slowly returned to him and Osore slipped back into its passive hibernation.

"Ah, sorry. I'll just, leave now."

"Wait!"

Izuku paused from the single step he had taken and looked back at the girl uncertainty.

Her voice was soft and sweet, like the song of a bird in the summer trees. She blinked as if she was surprised at herself for calling out. Turning her gaze to the ground like Izuku had done only moments before, she spoke softly again.

"Thank you. You didn't have to save me like that, but It means a lot knowing there are still people like you out there who are willing to step in and help someone against a bully. Thank you so much." The words were weak and stuttered like she expected Izuku to laugh at her for thanking him.

She flinched back when Izuku took a step closer to her. He felt guilty when she closed her eyes in preparation for something.

"I'm not going to hit you." He said, voice just as soft as hers had been.

The girl looked up at him in shock but small traces of startled broken hope flickered over her features and Izuku's heart just about melted. This girl, she was just like him.

"I promise, I'm not going to hurt you. I won't hit you. I know how much it sucks to feel like every person you come across is going to hurt you, but I'm not going to."

She swallowed, but her shoulders relaxed a little and she let her eyes meet his, "My name is Himeyo Fumii."

Izuku contemplated giving her his name, feeling cautiousness rise up in him. He studied her eyes for any signs that she was trying to deceive him. He found nothing but honesty, "Midoriya Izuku."

Fumii gave a hesitant smile at him, and she looked at the sky which had turned purple with the foretelling of night. Horror filled her eyes and she jumped away from the alley wall she had been shoved against earlier, "Oh my! I need to go. If I'm not home soon my parents are going to worry about me! Thank you again for saving me Midoriya-san. I hope we see each other again."

Without another word, the girl rushed off into the streets where people were starting to dwindle in number. Her words reminded Izuku that his mother would be returning home soon and he should probably get there before she did. He knew she had a habit of worrying, and he hated it when he caused her to worry.

Making sure he had his backpack, Izuku rushed in the direction of his home.

XxXxXxXxX

Izuku continued his research over the next month, taking days off of school and spending much time after school in the library, writing down what he thought was relevant to his mission. The boy was unsure about most of what he was doing, but the uncertainty could do nothing to stop him.

The boy wanted to reshape society, and he would do so. Over the course of the month, he had run into Fumii again by chance. It was while he was walking to the library after school three weeks after helping her the first time.

She was curled into a ball as a couple of boys kicked her and the dark haired girl stood to the side with a victorious smirk on her face. Knowing who the girl was, Izuku knew he couldn't leave her to her fate as he might have if she were a stranger.

Instead of marching over and taking action as he had last time, the boy sent Osore through the shadows until it stood in the dark haired girls. Asking the beast to startle the girl, but not hurt and not kill, Izuku watched the chaos unfold.

One of Osores lanky arms poked out from the shadow on the wall and wrapped around the victims neck to pull her against the wall harshly. The girl had time to yelp out in fear before she we pulled flat against the buildings wall. The two boys stopped what they were doing to look at her and both acted in fear at the sight. Izuku had no clue what Osore was doing, or even what Osore could do over all, but the shadows on the street were bubbling like a scene straight out of a horror novel. Booking it down the street to get as far away from the scene as possible, the boys didn't look back to help either girl.

When they were gone, Izuku slowly crept towards Fumii and the girl.

Fumii had sat up and was looking at her bully with her wide pale eyes. There was no fear to her gaze, just awe that someone so powerful and threatening to her life was so easily tied down.

"I thought I told you to leave her alone?" Izuku asked as a strange calm filled him. It was the same calm from that night in the alley. The new sensation started Izuku, but he rolled with it. It was helping him, so who was he to question it.

"I...I thought you meant only that night." The girl choked out.

Izuku could feel a snarl turning his lips, "Why would I only mean one night. If I stopped you once, does that not contest that what you are doing is wrong and your shouldn't do it again?"

Slight anger was beginning to pulse through the bond and Izuku had no clue where it had come from. But the hand around the girls neck tightened causing her to gasp for breath that was not there.

Izuku reveled in her pain for a fraction of a second too long before he felt disgust in himself.

"From now on, leave her alone. And get out of here." He growled, wanting this feeling to be gone.

Osore's hand released her and she fled.

"Thank you, Midoriya-san." The soft voice of the Himeyo girl startled Izuku from what he had been doing.

He looked back at her, the usual nervous soft smile he was known for in his youth gracing his lips as his eyes met hers, "Like I said the first time, I know what it's like to live under the hand of someone else, and anytime I see someone suffering like that I feel like I need to help."

She returned the smile with one of her own. Just like his, it was filled with anxiety and wavered as if unsure if it was actually alright to express itself.

"Himeyo-san, would you like to come to the library with me?" He asked on a whim.

The girl blinked in surprise, staring at Izuku for a few silent seconds before she remembered how to respond, "Oh...uh...sure. I would like that. I was headed their anyways so I could return a book I had borrowed."

"It must have been fate that we ran into each other again then."

Izuku helped the girl to her feet and they set off in the direction of the building. They fell into a comfortable silence. It seemed to Izuku that the girl knew he liked silence and she did too, so it wasn't awkward. They were both used to it, so there was no need to fill it when they both understood the tranquility not being forced to talk allowed.

"Uh...Midoriya-san. I have a question, if it's not too pressing to ask it. And you don't have to answer if you don't want. I'm just curious."

She waited for him to respond to her with a slight nod before continuing.

"What is your quirk?"

Izuku stumbled, not quite expecting that specific question. Though, now that he thought about it, her inquiry was appropriate. Even if he hadn't used Osore as he had in the past, he supposed his quirk was still in use when he threatened the dark haired bully. Not to mention that that specific question was one of the first things asked when meeting a new person. It had become common practice.

"Oh," Izuku trailed off. He wanted to default to his usual excuse of being quirkless, but she had seen him do something, so she knew he had a quirk. His lie would not work here. And Izuku had always been bad at lying on the spot.

"Um...it's called Living Nightmare."

The green haired boy edged around the topic as they continued on their way to the library.

"I can contort shadows and stuff because there is this thing in them that listens to me and when I call on it. It comes to my beck and call. I don't know what to call it other than a monster. Im not...really proud of my quirk." His voice trailed off into uncertainty before he could dig himself a deeper hole.

He may have promised himself and Osore that he would no longer deny the creature of its place as his quirk, but he didn't want to reveal it too soon, nor could he get over years of a mentality in only a few short weeks.

"That sounds cool! Mine is lame in comparison." The girl said, her voice having more strength to it when she noticed that Izuku was nervous about his own ability.

Izuku tilted his head, "How do you know? What even is your quirk?"

Fumii changed her gaze to focus on her moving feet, "It's called Body Swap and it allows me to take over the body of another person for around ten minutes."

Izuku paused his walking to turn wide eyed to the girl, "That is one of the coolest quirks I have ever heard of. Do you know how versatile and useful that quirk could be! There are so many situations that could easily be solved with that kind of ability. Villains could be taken down without a fight, people could be saved because they don't have to worry about their fear because its not them!"

The brown haired girl flushed at his words, gray eyes showing excitement in their depths. And because he could see that, he knew that she was happy he had complimented her.

"Yours sounds just as cool. I mean, it sounds powerful, if not a little creepy. But sometimes there needs to be a little creepy in everyone's lives. There are many uses for you quirk too! I just know it." Fumii urged, a light smile on her lips.

Izuku smiled slightly at her. He wanted to believe in her words, but something inside of him didn't allow him to. It told him to ignore Fumii's words. She was lying, just like his mother lied. His quirk was a monsters quirk that could never be accepted by society.

"Thank you." He wasn't sure if the girl had heard his words.

XxXxXxXxX

It might have been a beautiful sight once. Crystal ocean waves turned white with the movement glowing faintly in the sun as they lapped gently at the shore like a lover unable to be with its love. The sky, meeting the horizon in a diffusion of colors that painted a picture of serenity. The sands, gold mountains of soft earth that tickled at the travelers foot and saw home to many creatures.

Instead, it was a chaotic mess of junk and trash. Large misshapen piles of broken kitchen appliances, cans and bottles, and carrion of the sea creatures picked at by the seagulls and stray rats that found sanctuary among the great piles. It covered the soft sand and stained it with hits of broken glass and rusted irons that poked out of the grains making it dangerous to walk without boots lest one wished to see their foot impaled.

And it was cold. Chilly bitter winds wound past the beach in torrents as if angry at the clear obscene attitude towards nature.

Dagoba Municipal Park was one of Izuku's favorite places to reside. It lay abandoned by all except the homeless who found it easier to live in the streets further into the city than here at the sandy edge. Those who passed by it gave a wide berth as if fearing the trash piles would come alive and drag them into the crumpled depths of the mess.

It also allowed Osore to melt from the shadows and into the plane of existence. Frolicking along the dangerous piles of junk as if it were a toddler. Osore would use its many arms to throw smaller items, or to impale them. Sometimes, though it was weak in the sun, it lay down to bask, the bleached bones of its ribs cracking to splinters under the heat and stress, only to come back once Osore faded back into the shadows.

Izuku strolled along with an almost pep to his step.

The sun was still high above, shining its flame colored rays down onto the earth along with a comfortable warmth.

Quiet serenity surrounded him. It wasn't often he felt at peace, but this place, not matter how decrepit, gave him that feeling.

Izuku stopped walking once more when he reached the edge of the surf. He sat down and let the waves lap at his feet while Osore crawled about over the piles of junk behind him, crooning out broken sounds. The standing rule of 'don't be seen' keeping its play contained to one spot.

The boy leaned back and basked in the sun. Ever since the night when he'd made his decision, he'd felt lighter, like he deserved to feel happy. It felt less like society was trying to bring him down and put him into place and more like he was being accepted for what he was. And he hadn't even done anything other than plan yet.

The sound of a muffled yelp and Osore's numb surprise brought Izuku back to the present. He sat up and slowly turned around to see what had happened.

Osore was flickering, as if trying to decide if it should become shadow or stay physical. A boy with short cut, greasy brown hair and almond shapped alert brown eyes was staring at Osore. He didn't look scared, just startled, which surprised Izuku.

The greenette stood and made his was to the monster, tapping it's arm so it would fade into the darkness. Then he met the eyes of the boy. A staring contest began.

"Um," The boy started pathetically. Not that Izuku was much better. The boy was older than Izuku, that much was clear by his height. His face was thin and dirty. His clothes, ratty. This boy looked terrible and likely lived on the streets.

"Hello?" Izuku began, letting a smile he so rarely wore on his face shine, even if it was wobbly and uncertain. His nerves jittered and jumped.

The brown haired boys eyes widened, "H-hi. Um. My name is Shinnosuke Akitoshi. It's nice to m-meet you?" He stuck a filthy hand out in Izuku's direction. It made the boy jump and and stare at it uncertainly.

Shinouke sounded so uncertain and nervous about talking to Izuku who was younger and certainly did not look all that threatening. Izuku tilted his head, then slowly reached out to grasp the hand.

"Midoriya."

Akitoshi returned Izuku's nervous smile with a genuine one when their hands grasped.

"What is someone like you doing out here. S-shouldn't school be in right now. Or did you skip?" The brown haired boys voice was raspy and jagged as if he wasn't used to talking.

Izuku shrugged, "I should be, but I didn't really feel like going to school today. So I walked out during Lunch."

"And that required you to walk to the trash beach!" Akitoshi's eyebrows rose to his hairline.

"I come here from time to time." Izuku shrugged again, "It's the only place other than home that I feel comfortable enough to let Osore roam freely."

"Is Osore that...um...thing?"

Uncertainty wavered in the air as he said 'thing' as if it would be an insult to Izuku.

Izuku called Osore fourth so be beast stood in front of him. It's talon like arms shivered in the sun and it shifted from foot to foot, ghastly breath wheezing from its lungs.

"You can call it a monster if you want. It wouldn't offend me, and Osore has no feelings. It's what it is. Can you really describe it any other way?" Izuku's voice was still the light and cheerful tone he'd started the conversation with, but the look on his face had gone bitter.

Akitoshi noticed the look and frowned, "But it doesn't make you happy to describe it as a monster, so why should you settle for others to call it that?"

"It's that label society wanted me to put on it when it first manifested and it's a label that stuck. It's what it is, there's no greater truth. I call it a monster. It's not that that makes me bitter, it's the fact that because it's attached to me, it forces me to accept that I will never be a part of what society deems acceptable." As soon as he started ranting, he found he couldn't stop.

Even if he'd just met Akitoshi, he told him almost everything. About how he was ashamed of his quirk and hid it. How having a villains quirk was worse than having no quirk and having no quirk made you worthless. Explained how he'd had no friends growing up because of it. Explained how only his mother showed him anything other than disdain. The words flowed in an unregulated vomit.

Akitoshi just stared wide eyed at him, the brown irises roving over his body while he spoke. But he stayed silent and listened.

Of course Izuku left a few key events out of his story, like the atrocious actions and inevitable end of his father. And when the words stopped flowing, he brought a hand up to his mouth as if doing so would take all the words he had spoken and put them back in his mouth like he had never spoken in the first place. His eyes were wide in surprise.

Akitoshi's eyes looked over his face for another moment, and then moved down to look at his feet, shame suddenly written on his face.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I can't really control my quirk because I don't know anything about it really. Other than the fact that it lets me read other peoples minds and my parents consider it useless. Sometimes when I talk to people, they just start rambling and can't find it in themselves to stop because I'm unknowingly using my quirk." He took a deep breath and sighed, "But I promise, not a word of what you said to me will ever pass my lips."

Izuku stared at the older boy in confusion for a moment, eyes wide and his anxiety skyrocketing. It took a moment for him to register what Shinnosuke was saying and when he did, his brain began to fill with fuzz.

That meant that if he had been any weaker about his resolve to not to talk about his father, he could have spilled everything.

Izuku turned his gaze to his feet as well and the two boys lapsed into silence. Both lost in their miserable thoughts. The green haired boy tried to reason with himself.

He glanced up at the other boy, uncertainty in his eyes as he studied him. Akitoshi looked miserable. His brown eyes were filled with regret and despair. His shoulders were slumped and his lips were curved into a grimace at his actions. Izuku, though still confused on his thoughts cleared his throat to speak.

"Well, I mean," He started out, voice quiet, "You said you didn't mean to do it. You seem like a trustworthy person, thought I don't know you all that well, so I believe you when you say you didn't mean to do it. And now that you do know, maybe we could spend more time together so I can learn about you as payback for accidentally using your quirk on me."

Akitoshi looked over at Izuku with an incredulous expression on his face, "You would forgive me?"

The way he said the words struck something in Izuku's heart the same way Fumii's situation did. There was something deep inside Izuku that wanted to give this boy, though older, the same hope that he gave Fumii when she was being bullied. Perhaps some innate part of himself that still wanted to a hero. A small part of him that refused to give up no matter how dismal his chances of becoming one were. A tiny part of his old dream that screamed out to him from the depth of his soul where he buried everything that dealt with pain, and made him who he was.

He wanted to help Akitoshi, if not just for the moment.

"Yeah. I think it is only fair." He spoke quietly again.

The boy stared at him, blinking rapidly as if it would stop the tears that were suddenly pooling in his eyes. Izuku took a step back, unsure of how to proceed with the action and thinking he had done something wrong.

When the brown haired boy launched himself at Izuku and wrapped his arms around the boy in a hug, Izuku froze up. Outside of Osore, he hadn't had physical contact with someone else that hadn't inflicted pain upon him. Over the years, Izuku had come to associate another humans touch with pain.

The other boy didn't seem to notice him freezing up and beginning to panic as Shinnosuke buried his face in Izuku's shoulder. His breath began to shorten.

One moment, Akitoshi had his arms wrapped around Izuku in a hug, the next he was being torn off and thrown to the other side of the clearing while Osore replaced him. Izuku sank into the comfort only the bony monster could provide.

His breath immediately began to even out as he closed his eyes. The lump that had grown in his throat in the short time of physical contact was swallowed down. Izuku allows his emotions and insecurities to melt away under the influence of his quirk, draining him of anything that made him feel.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there with his eyes closed, but when he opened them again, Akitoshi was a few feet away looking with nervous guilt at Izuku. His mocha brown eyes resembled that of a small puppy dog that had been yelled at and didn't know why.

Izuku didn't know how to react to the expression on the boys face, so he fixed his eyes to the sand to study each grain individually and hope that the older boy would fix the awkward silence that had fallen between them. Osore still clung to him. It's emotionless form wrapped tight around Izuku in a strange form of comfort and Izuku allowed it because it was Osore who was taking the emotions he hated away.

"Um, that happened kinda fast." Akitoshi's shy voice called out from a few feet away. Izuku still refused to look up in fear that he would be brought back to his panic even though he knew Osore was draining those things out of his body.

"I didn't mean to do whatever I did. I mean, I should probably have asked. Or I shouldn't have done it anyways. I've always been kind of a touchy feely person because I grew up craving affection? I mean, that's what my grandparents told me before they passed away. I'm sorry if I startled you or anything…" the brown haired teen was rambling on and on.

Izuku slowly moved his eyes from the sand to the other boy, slowly relaxing and sinking back into his body.

Raising a hand towards Akitoshi, Izuku spoke, "It's fine. I promise. I just, I'm not used to physical contact and I've come to associate it with pain because of my past."

His voice had gotten weak again, clawing its way up his throat weakly to escape into the salty air.

Uncertainty stuck to his words, making them thick in his throat as he spoke them.

Both of the boys eyes met, and an understanding was passed between the two of them. Izuku let his rare smile out again as Akitoshi returned it.

They were still awkward around each other, but both could work on getting better. Soon, they might even consider each other friends. But for now, they would keep their distance and the brown haired boy would try to repay Izuku for what he had done.

XxXxXxXxX

The day had been a relatively great day.

Bakugou had ignored him at school, barely even bumping shoulders when he passed Izuku on the way out of the classroom. Fumii had meet him at the library where they shared a small snack outside on the stone steps under the sun.

When they had finished their snack, both junior high students had parted ways and now Izuku was wandering around the trash heaps of Dagoba which was a sanctuary for the strange to hide from the normal.

Lost in thought, Izuku stared blankly out at the ocean. His thoughts were scattered but collected in a way he could barely keep them all straight.

But one burning question kept nudging the other thoughts out of the way.

This question seemed to burn a hold in his backpack where the black untitled notebook had been stuffed for the past few weeks. It nagged at the scars on his shoulders like it was trying to remind him that it was there. It even seemed to urge Osore to act out of the ordinary.

The monster was currently messing around with a discarded Microwave just behind Izuku, strange chirrups and whining sounds erupting from its twisted hairless snout.

Izuku rubbed a hand along his thigh to get rid of the sweat that had gathered in his palm and sighed.

Yes indeed. This question was a burning one that needed to be addressed soon or it would drive Izuku insane.

Now that he had a game plan, how was he supposed to put it in action?

Izuku had done a lot of research at the library the past month, written down location after location in his journal. He had written down important people in the black market and he had become familiar with the rulers of the underground. Or, as familiar as he could be having never set foot outside of the Shizuoka prefecture, which for the most part, was free of high crime groups. Sure there was an incident every now and then, but the prefecture housed not only the number two hero, Endeavors agency, but also the top hero school in the country, U.A. High.

Any villain actually worth their salt would stay far, far away from the prefecture unless that wanted to be caught.

Which meant getting in contact with anyone from the underground, weather it be a Black Market Salesperson, a Drug Dealer, or even a group of villains would cause Izuku to travel out of Shizuoka into another prefecture.

It wouldn't take to much time, in fact, he could travel to halfway across Japan in a single day if he really wanted to. And traveling wasn't a problem either. The subway was cheap and fast.

No, it was more a problem with his mother. She had an intuition of a mother which meant she would be able to tell if he took the subway to far. It's why, even when he skipped school or wandered the streets after school, he stayed in Musutafu.

Though the place Izuku was interested in was actually a lot closer than he expected to find. Tokyo was one of the largest, busiest cities in the entirety of Japan. It was also one of the more famous prefectures. Because it was the capital of Japan, it was almost swarming with hero agencies and heroes. Not to mention the large count of vigilantes who snuck around the area.

To Izuku, it seemed like both one of the stupidest and safest places to hold the heart of the underworld. And honestly, he wasn't all that surprised.

So he just had to figure out how to sneak past or get the permission of his mother to go to Tokyo, and everything would be solved.

But the thing was, Inko Midoriya was very protective of her child and Izuku knew she would never let him go to Tokyo alone. But if she went with him, he'd never have a chance to slip away and meet up with some people.

Sighing in defeat as he laid back against the sand, Izuku closed his eyes and just basked in the sun.

A voice startled him from his reverie, "Ahh, Mirodya-kun!"

It was Fumii and Akitoshi.

Seeing the two together was jarring. Over the past few weeks, he had met Akitoshi only a handful of times, and as far as he knew, Fumii didn't hang around trash beaches if she could help it. In fact, she had never once mentioned anything about visiting Dagoba.

"Good afternoon Shinnosuke-kun, it's nice to see you again today Himeyo-chan." He greeted both quietly, noting Osore slowly lumbering to its masters side.

The creature sniffled lightly in the directions of the two other humans before it sent a question to Izuku. The boy gentle patted the beasts nose and the beast sank into the shadows with a slight chirp.

"What are you two doing here?" He asked when it was gone.

Fumii smiled, "I was walking along to road talking out-loud to myself about you. I didn't mean to, when I stumbled into Shinnosuke-kun. He heard me mention your name, and decided to take me here. He said that you came here a lot."

Izuku tilted his head, "But we already talked to each other today. Was there something that you wanted to give me?"

The girl shook her head, "Oh, no. I was just...I actually don't know."

The girls cheeks flushed as she patted a hand against her thigh.

Akitoshi let out a light chuckle, "I think I accidentally dragged her along when I heard that she was a friend of yours. I wanted to talk to her."

Izuku let out a chuckle of his own, but this one just mirrored Akitoshi. The sound had no real emotion to it.

The green haired boy looked at the sky and sighed, "It looks like its getting late. I should probably head home. I have some homework to do before I can relax and go to sleep."

"Aw, but we just got here!" Fumii pouted, and then she blushed when she realized that she was being more open with her emotions. Izuku gave her a genuine smile.

"We can all hang out another day. I should really get this homework done. I need to keep my grades up."

Waving goodbye to the two humans he considered friends, Izuku made his way home.

XxXxXxXxX

Izuku brainstormed for another few days before he finally gave up and went to his mother.

"Kaasan, I have a question."

"What is it Izu?" The green haired woman had asked with a soft smile.

"I was wondering if there was a chance we could take a trip to Tokyo one of these weekends? It's not too important, but I wanted to visit one of the museums, and a friend of mine is taking a trip there. She wanted to hang out." The lie slipped passed his lips without any hesitation, and Izuku could feel gilt pooling in his stomach as he used Fumii in a lie. But he had to go to Tokyo, he had to make it there within the next week to meet up with Prime Mover

It had taken Izuku nearly a week to get the nerve to private message another person on a website made for villain sympathizers. Prime Mover was an underground supplier for anything and everything. His conversation with Izuku had been enlightening, and Izuku wanted to make a connection with him before the supplier had been employed with someone else.

If he was able to make the connection, he would have a solid supplier, meaning he would have endless access to weapons and support objects.

"This is kinda sudden Izuku." His mother contemplated, "I don't know if I could take time off work this weekend to go."

"That's why I said that it wasn't urgent. It doesn't have to be this weekend. Just, one of these weekends. My friend is going to be out there visiting family for the next month or so."

Inko pursed her lips as she stirred the noodles in the pot, "I suppose we could go up to Tokyo next weekend if you really want to. Though I don't know what I would do while you were off with your friend. Perhaps I can find something to do."

"Thank you Kaasan!"

XxXxXxXxX

The week past with little to no stress. Kacchan was unusually passive, though Izuku passed if off as he was trying to keep his record clean and being extra cautious. Not that it bothered Izuku. And the greenette had talked to both Himeyo and Shinnosuke about going to Tokyo.

His two friends actually got along a lot better than Izuku had thought they would. In fact, Shinnosuke would always wait for the both of them at the steps of the library after school so he could hang out with them.

This peace was strange. Izuku couldn't remember a time when he had been this comfortable around another human that was not his mother. But it was wholeheartedly welcomed.

The next weekend, Izuku and Inko packed a couple of duffel bags and boarded the train to Tokyo. His mother had booked them to stay in a hotel for the entire weekend, and while he was off doing his business, she would be touring around a few of the Temples.

They got off at their station after the short ride. It took less than an hour to get where they wanted to go.

The hotel room was small. Inko hadn't wanted to spend too much while in Tokyo, and it just so happened that she got a discount on the room. There was a single queen bed pushed far into the room. Separated from that by a small half wall was a couch, which was where Izuku would be sleeping.

"Alright. Well, you have fun. Be responsible, and be back before eight tonight. If you get into any trouble at all, call the authorities. I'm sure there will be a hero close by to aid you if you get into trouble. Stay out of red light districts, and stay away from strangers." Inko listed off the rules as Izuku prepared himself to leave. He nodded along with her words, knowing that he was going to break more than half of those rules.

"I love you Izuku." She said when he stood up after lacing his shoes, "Have fun with your friend, and stay safe."

"I will Kaasan. Don't worry."

"I'll always worry. Your my child Izuku."

He smiled at his mother and nodded, "OK. I'll be careful. See you later Kaasan."

Izuku rushed out the door before his mother could worry over him anymore. He was eager to meet Prime Mover and finally start his plans of reshaping the world.

This moment, this day was finally the day that he could work towards his goal. Today was the day he started to make his change to the world.


End file.
